World population - Millions of Africans without a birth certificate and legal identity
It is almost unthinkable in Germany for a baby not to receive a birth certificate. However, in many countries in Africa, this is common practice: According to UNICEF, only about every second child under the age of five in Africa south of the Sahara is officially registered. This has serious consequences for education, healthcare, employment opportunities, and human rights.
Africa, with its approximately 1.3 billion people, is considered the continent with the youngest population. Every third person in the 46 countries south of the Sahara is between 10 and 24 years old. At the same time, the population in the region is growing at the fastest rate worldwide. According to UN projections, there will be 2.1 billion people living here by 2050 - many millions of whom will be without legal identity.
The situation is particularly dire in Ethiopia and Somalia: According to UNICEF, only three percent of all children under five have a birth certificate in these countries. In Zambia, only 14 percent are registered, while in Tanzania, Angola, and Chad, approximately every fourth baby has a birth certificate. In Uganda and South Sudan, about every third child lacks this important document.
"A birth certificate gives a child a legal existence, an official name, a nationality, a foundation for life," says Amandine Bollinger, UNICEF's Child Protection Chief in Angola. "Without birth registration, a child is disadvantaged from birth."
Problems with banks, jobs, elections
The first consequence is often that a baby without a birth certificate does not receive vaccinations, according to Bollinger. A bad start in life. Children - and later adults - without legal identity cannot prove who they are or how old they are. They cannot open an account, exercise their right to vote, buy property, inherit property, or apply for a job on the legal labor market. They are not protected from human trafficking or child marriage and are at risk of being used as child soldiers.
The low rate of birth registration has numerous causes: In Africa, births mainly take place at home, often in remote rural areas. Many parents are not in possession of the necessary documents to apply for a birth certificate. In some cases, fathers deny paternity or are not present. In addition, many mothers, due to their low level of education, are not aware that their baby needs to be registered.
"A child that is not registered is an invisible child"
Whoever has no ID card is not in any statistics. Djanina Baptista, the head gynecologist at the Cajueiro Hospital in Angola's capital Luanda, puts it bluntly: "A child that is not registered is an invisible child. It is not in the system." Her staff tries to educate pregnant women about the importance of birth certificates, Baptista says, but in an overcrowded hospital with overburdened staff, this is only possible to a limited extent.
Mothers who give birth at Cajueiro Hospital in Angola are fortunate. It is the only state hospital with an integrated birth registration office. Twenty-five other registration offices in hospitals were closed during the Corona Pandemic and have not been reopened yet. Newborns can only be registered at Cajueiro Hospital during specific hours: weekdays between 8 am and 3 pm. Those who give birth at other times are left with closed doors.
Claudia Lopes gave birth to a son a few hours ago and is waiting to be discharged. She was unaware that it was possible to request a birth certificate for little Lucas. Her own documents or those of the father were not present. "But now that I know, I will come back and do it," says the young mother.
Without a birth certificate for the parents, there is little hope of registering the child
Even when parents are informed about the importance of a birth certificate, many face significant bureaucratic hurdles. Madalena Zongo is a 17-year-old, single mother living in Luanda's economically disadvantaged neighborhood Grafanil. She cannot register her one-month-old son Gabriel: She herself does not have a birth certificate, and the father of her baby has disappeared. Her parents also lack valid documents, she explains. There is little hope that Baby Gabriel will ever be registered. "It's a vicious circle. If babies are not registered at birth, their chances of catching up later in life are minimal," says Bollinger.
Zongo worries because she knows from personal experience that a missing birth certificate can consume many opportunities in life. She herself had difficulties being accepted into school. She finally entered the first grade at the age of eleven. After the third grade, at the age of thirteen, she dropped out of school. "It was just too difficult to ask for admission every school year. I gave up," she says.
Millions of people in Africa lack a birth certificate, which leads to poverty and eliminates prospects – reasons that drive irregular migration towards Europe. But even those who make it to Europe face the same hurdle: Without identity documents, they cannot prove their identity. "This reduces their chances of asylum applications. Or they feel forced to assume a false or forged identity," explains Bollinger.
In the German debate, irregular migrants are often accused of intentionally abandoning their passports during flight. In reality, many do not even possess identity documents.
- In many countries in Africa south of the Sahara, only about half of the children under the age of five have a birth certificate, according to UNICEF.
- The situation is particularly dire in Ethiopia and Somalia, where only 3% of children under five have a birth certificate.
- Without a birth certificate, children in Africa cannot prove their age or identity, which prevents them from opening a bank account, exercising their right to vote, buying property, inheriting property, or applying for a job on the legal labor market.
- Madalena Zongo, a 17-year-old single mother in Luanda's economically disadvantaged neighborhood Grafanil, cannot register her one-month-old son Gabriel because she herself does not have a birth certificate and the father of her baby has disappeared.
- Problems with banks, jobs, elections, human rights, and education are just a few of the serious consequences of not having a birth certificate in Africa.
- Amandine Bollinger, UNICEF's Child Protection Chief in Angola, says that a birth certificate gives a child a legal existence, an official name, a nationality, and a foundation for life.
- The low rate of birth registration in Africa is due to a variety of factors, including the fact that most births take place at home, often in remote rural areas, and many parents are not in possession of the necessary documents.
- UN projections estimate that there will be 2.1 billion people living in Africa south of the Sahara by 2050, many of whom will be without legal identity due to the low rate of birth registration.
- The United Nations recognizes the importance of birth registration as a fundamental human right and has called on governments around the world to prioritize this issue, particularly in Africa.
