Nigeria records an estimated five million births every year, even as millions of births and deaths remain undocumented.
The National Population Commission (NPC) disclosed this on Wednesday, noting that the country’s birth registration coverage now stands at 57%, while death registration remains below 20%.
The disclosure comes as the Commission launched the nationwide digital registration of births and deaths through the VitalReg platform under the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (e-CRVS) system.
What they are saying
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, NPC Chairman, Dr. Aminu Yusuf, said the country’s low registration rates continue to deprive millions of Nigerians of legal identity while limiting the availability of reliable demographic data needed for national planning.
- “These gaps deprive many Nigerians of legal identity and limit the availability of reliable data needed for effective national planning,” he said.
Yusuf said the VitalReg platform, which became operational across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory on July 1, represents one of the most significant reforms in Nigeria’s civil registration system.
According to him, the digital platform is designed to modernise birth and death registration by providing faster and more efficient services, including 24-hour online access, digital certificate issuance, reduced paperwork and improved data validation.
He added that the platform will strengthen the credibility of Nigeria’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics database while serving as a foundational database for other national data systems.
The NPC chairman said the system will also support interoperability across Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem, in line with the Federal Government’s digital transformation agenda.
More insights
To improve access to registration services, Yusuf said the commission has established 4,011 functional registration centres across the country’s 774 local government areas and plans to increase the number to about 8,000 nationwide.
He added that the NPC is working with key stakeholders to strengthen the capacity of registration personnel and ensure that births and deaths are promptly and accurately recorded through the new platform.
The commission also announced a partnership involving the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), UNICEF and Barnksforte Technologies Limited to decentralise birth registration and bring registration services closer to communities.
Birth registration remains subsidised
Yusuf disclosed that the commission has reviewed fees for specialised administrative services, including record modification, certificate reissuance, attestation and verification requests.
However, he assured Nigerians that birth registration and birth notification services would remain highly subsidised.
- “Let me assure Nigerians that this review is not intended to create barriers to access. Birth registration and birth notification services remain highly subsidised, in line with the commission’s commitment to achieving universal registration,” he said.
According to Yusuf, the VitalReg platform is being operated under a Public Private Partnership arrangement with Barnksforte Technologies Limited, which will provide technical support, ensure continuous system availability, strengthen cybersecurity and deliver ongoing technological upgrades.
What you should know
As part of efforts to boost birth registration in Nigeria, Nairametrics recently reported that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has partnered with the NPC to incorporate the National Identification Number (NIN) into the country’s digital birth registration system.
According to UNICEF, the initiative ensures that NINs are generated for children at birth, thus saving parents or the child from future stress.
It added that e-birth registration will provide the government with a credible database that will aid in policymaking and the distribution of resources and facilities such as health centres and schools.
