Between January and May 2023, a total of 1,174,392 birth registrations have been documented nationwide, as revealed by the RapidSMS application developed by the National Population Commission. RapidSMS serves as a platform for collecting and reporting data on birth registrations, both online and offline.
The app provides a breakdown of the registrations: 362,798 were for children under one year old, 562,345 for children under five years old, and 249,249 for children above five years old. Out of the registered births, 580,820 were female children, while 593,572 were male children.
The app further discloses that female children were registered at 2,573 centers, whereas male children were registered at 3,936 centers throughout the country.
January witnessed 304,118 registrations, February had 142,142, March saw 267,583, April recorded 228,456, and May had 232,093. Lagos State had the highest number of birth registrations, totaling 115,264, followed by Ogun with 82,296 and Bauchi with 76,767.
Other states with their corresponding birth registration figures include: Plateau (45,421), Zamfara (6,687), Yobe (13,109), Taraba (25,643), Sokoto (65,499), Rivers (32,095), Oyo (42,036), Niger (15,352), Nasarawa (9,545), Kwara (53,730), Kebbi (4,753), Katsina (41,096), Imo (14,983), Kano (10,693), Kaduna (17,641), Jigawa (7,462), Gombe (4,650), Enugu (5,330), and Ebonyi (27,004).
Additionally, Delta recorded 37,467 births, Cross-River had 12,732, Borno registered 67,416, Benue had 38,009, Akwa-Ibom had 24,181, Adamawa had 33,796, Anambra had 36,898, Bayelsa had 9,440, Edo had 53,490, Ekiti had 22,048, Ondo had 25,568, Osun had 28,615, the Federal Capital Territory had 26,768, Kogi had 25,522, and Abia had 26,058 births.
Speaking to our correspondent, the Director of Vital Registration at the National Population Commission, Matthew Sunday, mentioned that the commission is currently conducting increased awareness campaigns to encourage Nigerians to register their children at birth.
Sunday said, “The app has been very effective and there has been updates from time to time.
“We have been on serious advocacy and sensitisation to let Nigerians know the importance of birth registration.’’
“UNICEF has been a great pillar of support in this advocacy. We are collaborating with primary health care agencies, National Youth Service Corps, and the National Orientation Agency to help us spread the message of birth registration.”
