NPC Registers Over 36,000 Births in Kano Nine Months After Deploying E-System

The National Population Commission (NPC) has registered over 36,000 births in Kano State within nine months of deploying its electronic birth registration system.

The Kano State Director of NPC, Balarabe Kabir, disclosed this during a two-day State Refresher Training of Trainers held in Kano. The training was organized in collaboration with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), with support from the Government of the Netherlands through UNICEF.

Kabir noted that the figure represents only a portion of the total number of children captured so far. He added that approximately 27,000 children under five years and over 40,000 children above five years, who had not been previously registered, have also been documented.

The training brought together ALGON focal persons and District Civil Registrars from all 44 local government areas in the state to enhance their proficiency in using the Vital Registration application for electronic civil registration. The commission also plans to conduct step-down training across the 484 wards to reach ward registrars.

Kabir identified challenges affecting the exercise, including system downtime, login issues, delays in National Identification Number validation, and insufficient support for field registrars, particularly in hard-to-reach areas. He stated that the commission has engaged the Kano State Government to address these challenges and scale up the exercise.

He emphasized that birth registration is a fundamental right of every child and is essential for planning, security, and access to social services. He called on stakeholders, including traditional institutions and corporate organizations, to support the commission’s efforts to ensure universal registration.

Speaking on the training, a participant, Aisha Umar, said the exercise has improved her knowledge and capacity to carry out birth registration at the grassroots level, particularly through modern techniques and digital tools.

Another participant, Hadiza Sani, noted that the training would help address challenges related to low birth registration in rural communities and commended the organizers for the comprehensive sessions.