BHRIGANGAR: As many as 26,000 children have not been registered during their birth in Karnali Province.

According to the National Census, 2021, there were 204,638 children below the age of five in the Province. As per the census, 25,990 children were yet to have registered births.

Among 87.3 percent registered birth, the number of girl children remains higher by 0.7 percent, according to the census. Lack of awareness is said to be the top cause behind non-registration, the stakeholders said.

Child rights activist Nawaraj BC explained that the parents lacked awareness that they should register the births of their children on time. The birth registration of children whose fathers could not be identified can be done but the documentation is not done for such children, described BC.

The government has placed a policy so that no children should be deprived of birth records but lax implementation is leaving many children’s birth undocumented, he lamented.

The father and mother of the child have to mandatorily enlist their children in birth registration along with a name. Birth registration is required for a child to get a birth certificate which is the first legal document of identity for the newborn.

The provincial Ministry of Social Development has been launching an awareness drive after finding the reason for children missed birth registration, informed Anita Gyawali, Head of Women, Children, and Senior Citizen Division.

RSS