When a baby is born the first thing a mother wants to do is make sure her child is clothed and fed, then the bonding begins. But parents may also want to consider registering their child immediately after birth. It might not seem like a pressing issue at that moment but it can have a significant impact on the child's future. Today a meeting was held at the Biltmore to emphasize the importance of birth registration and to evaluate the registration system in Belize. The Registrar General at the Registry Department Velda Flowers told us about the situation when it comes to how many people are actually registered in Belize.
Velda Flowers, Registrar General - Registry Department
"This morning what is happening is the launching of this bottleneck analysis that was conducted by Miss Patricia Holness, a consultant from Jamaica. This effort came about as a result of the partnership we have with UNICEF and OAS in order to try and ascertain and address the issue of the 6% non-registration of persons born in Belize. Currently Belize has about 94-95% of all persons born in Belize registered and this effort was put in place to try and close that gap - that 6% gap that currently exist."
Patricia Holness, Consultant
"It is very important that birth registration be taken seriously in any country and a mother as you just said, bonds with her child. But then that child has to be a citizen. That child has to live in the country and reap the rewards of being a citizen. So the government of that country needs to know that this is a citizen for whom I must care and also to ensure that all that goes with citizenship will go to that child."
Courtney Weatherburne
"Just further elaborate for us the importance of registering a child? It acknowledges their existence and identity at the core level."
Patricia Holness, Consultant
"Yes. In order to have an identity in a particular country, civil registration is important. So the sooner it is done which at the birth of the child, the better it is going to be. Because you run the risk of persons delaying and then not coming back and then that person falls out of the system. When you don't register immediately, it means that that person may not be available to the hospitals. For example, for immunization. They will not be able to attend some schools. If you really observe the laws of the country - may not be able to attend schools. May not be able to participate in other social amenities of the country because you are not in the system."
Now getting parents into the practice of registering their child at birth is one thing but what about the birth registration system? Well the Registry officer plays a crucial role in getting the information and then organizing the data in an efficient system. Flowers told us about the improvements they have made in the registration system while Consultant Patricia Holness discussed specific areas that still need to be addressed.
Velda Flowers, Registrar General - Registry Department
"Many attempts have been made and efforts have been made to address that situation. We have introduced a new software system to accommodate the preparation of births and deaths and marriage certificates. We have changed the system is such a way that you can apply in the morning and collect the birth certificate in the afternoon, to accommodate and to avoid all the problems we've been having. One has to appreciate that the information that comes out of the registry; the birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates - are very vital and important information and we have to take time to make sure they are properly checked and they are properly verified before we issue it because the implication can be very serious and very devastating."
Patricia Holness, Consultant
"The responsibility is the parents. We know that. But unlike probably some other jurisdictions, in the laws of Belize, it is also required that the registration officer go and get the parent and have the registration done. So, there are two sides to that coin; the moms or the parents should ensure it's done, but as well the registration officer within the civil registry is also required by law to go and find that parent."
"In addition there are other areas within the civil registry, if you go to modernization where that could also be improved - the matter of assisting being develop that will capture the data, link the data, identify for example that this birth record belongs to Tom who is deceased. So once someone attempts to use it, then that will create an alarm which will help the civil registry to avoid that."
Of course one of the main recommendations is digitizing the records and moving towards a more technological system. The other recommendations that were discussed today will also be reviewed and implemented at the Registry Department.
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