Over 27,000 children without birth certificates in Littoral

A simplified process for issuing the document started yesterday June 11, 2015, with over 400 children.

Some 1,706 of the over 27,000 children of school-going age without birth certificates in the Littoral Region are being assisted by a Non-governmental Organisation, Women’s Peace Initiatives, in collaboration with the Douala V Council.

The former, who worked closely with Basic Education Inspectors, Directors and Head Teachers of nursery and primary schools and Parent Teachers Associations, came out with a list of children who do not have the document.

With the list, the NGO met the President of the Court of Appeal for the Littoral who signed a memo requesting stakeholders to facilitate the issuance of the document.

The Executive Secretary of Women’s Peace Initiatives, Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo, said parents whose children were identified need to fill a form in which the child’s date of birth, names, place of birth and parent’s names are well written.

The simplified procedure, the Executive Secretary said, will cost FCFA 3,500, which is far lower the normal procedure after expiry of the three-month deadline following birth.

Since the law stipulates that a child’s birth certificate is issued within three months using the hospital birth card, some parents give a blind eye to the requirement until complications set in when their children reach school-going ages.

At this stage, most parents produce fake birth certificates just for their children to sit official examinations like the First School Leaving Certificate.

Gninkeu Jean-Baptiste, the Fourth Assistant Mayor of the Douala V Council admitted that a child without a birth certificate is like a stranger in his country. He pointed out that the council has to come to the aid of the children by facilitating the issuance of the document.

Dr Kouatchouang Adrienne Vanessa, who evaluates the ages given by children’s mothers, said some give less while others do not even know their children’s birth days. She said close to 400 birth certificates are issued every day and that by the end of the operation on June 15, 2015, all 1,706 birth certificates are expected to be issued.