The Department of Civil Registration plans to digitally register all children born in Kenya in a move aimed at simplifying access to birth records and national identification documents.
Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizen Services Belio Kipsang said the initiative would see every child assigned a Unique Personal Identifier (UPI), which would also be used in the preparation of national identity cards.
Speaking in Bomet County, Kipsang said the government would collaborate with hospitals across the country to ensure the successful implementation of the programme.
He noted that the digital registration system would enable parents to access and obtain their children's birth certificates from anywhere without having to visit registration offices physically.
“Parents will be able to print their children's identification documents at cyber cafés, eliminating the need to travel to registration offices to obtain the documents,” Kipsang said.
He explained that the information submitted through the system would be assessed within a few days before being transmitted directly to the department's headquarters in Nairobi for processing.
Kipsang said the initiative would eliminate the need for parents to rely on physical birth certificates once the programme becomes fully operational, adding that the system would also improve the delivery of government services to Kenyans.
Digital registration expected to reduce delays
The proposed digital registration programme is expected to ease the challenges parents face when seeking birth certificates, particularly in areas where delays in processing the documents have been reported.
For many parents across the country, obtaining birth certificates has been a lengthy and frustrating process, with some forced to wait for extended periods before receiving the documents.
The government hopes that the new system will reduce such delays, improve access to vital registration records and make it easier for Kenyans to obtain essential identification documents.
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