Determinants of birth registration
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Date
2007-10
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Publisher
Kampala International University, College of Humanities and social sciences.
Abstract
Birth registration is a fundamental human right which gives a child a recogn~ed0 ~al
existence and identity. The record of birth provides legal proof of identity, ~ ty
age, parentage and lineage of the child, thereby establishing a legal status on\~0~
depends a variety of rights. Whereas the government of Uganda has put in place~the
necessary legal instruments to ensure universal registration of births in Uganda, the
country is still far from achieving the desired universality which will guarantee every
child born in Uganda, the right to a legal recognition of their existence and identity. The
purpose of this study was to establish the extent to which Uganda’s Birth Registration
Policy of universal registration of births has been achieved in Arua District and determine
how public awareness, economic factors and cultural factors have contributed to the
existing levels of registration. The research was therefore how has public awareness,
economic factors, superstitions and cultural factors have influenced the existing levels of
birth registration in Arua District? The research population consisted of all households in
Arua District. The inclusion criteria was households with a child aged 0-4 years that
usually resides in the household. The researcher employed scientific methods of sampling
in the selection of household respondents. The study showed that only 51% of children
aged 0-4 years of age in Arua District were reported to have their births registered. Birth
registration was observed to be higher (52.7%) in rural areas as compared to urban areas
where it stood at 31.4%. The research also found that birth registration was higher
(65.2%) among parents who had ever been required to produce a birth certificate to
access a service for their child than among those who were never required (42.7%) to do
so. The research findings show that 67.6% of rural respondents ever heard about birth
registration while the corresponding figures for the urban population was only 45.7%.
Overall 65.8% of the population of the District ever heard about birth registration. This
shows a very high relationship between public awareness and birth registration. The
study revealed that 82.1% of the male respondents had heard about birth registration
while only 60.8% ofthe female respondents reported having heard so.
The study further revealed that the level of awareness on birth registration rose with the
level of education of respondents. The level of awareness is also associated with the
literacy status of the respondents. The study revealed that knowledge of where to register
births has linkage to birth registration. The study revealed a significant relationship
between birth registration and public awareness the research fmdings also showed that
economic factors have a significant influence on birth registration. Registration fees and
other indirect costs associated with registration were also cited as factors affecting birth
registration. The study found that respondents were aware of beliefs in the community
that discourage birth registration. Their effects on registration were however found not to
be significant.
The study recommends use of effective campaign strategies that provide comprehensive
information to raise the levels of awareness on birth registration. The study also
recommends that, to stimulate public demand for registration, government should require
citizens to produce birth certificates to access certain services. Owing to the importance
of birth registration, government should consider scraping off registration fees so as to
make it affordable to all. It should also consider ways of motivating staff who conduct
birth registration.
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts in public policy and planning of Kampala International University in Arua District