By ALICE NACHILEMBE
Home Affairs and Internal security Minister Jack Mwiimbu has officially launched the new birth certificate template to strengthen civil registration.
Mr Mwiimbu said the aim of the new birth certificate template is to strengthen civil registration and to provide vital information to policy makers.
He said a birth certificate is every child’s formal inclusion in society and crucial for accessing social services and protection of legal rights.
Mr Mwiimbu said this in a speech read on his behalf by acting permanent secretary Ronald Misapa.
He said Government has bemoaned the low levels of birth registration by citizens which currently stands at less than 20 percent for children below 5 years.
And United Nations resident coordinator Coumba Mar Gadio said the launch of the birth and death certificate templates lay a firm foundation for a sustainable legal identity system for Zambia.
Dr Mar Gadio said legal identity is the basic characteristic of an individual’s identity and must be protected.
This was in a speech read on her behalf by United Nations Children’s Fund-UNICEF Deputy resident coordinator Multi Ghandi.
Meanwhile, Registrar General Brenda Banda disclosed that the birth and death certificate templates are part of the larger effort towards transforming the legal identity system in the country.
