For the first time in the History of the Registrar General's Department over 60 per cent of Fathers turned out to participate in the registration process launched at hospitals across Jamaica, on January 1, 2007. This marks the dawning of a new era of vital registration for the nation’s children.
Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller and Minister of Health Horace Dalley were in attendance at the launch of the initiative on New Year’s Day at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital.
In addressing the audience Prime Minister Simpson- Miller congratulated the fathers who have shown tremendous interest in having their particulars placed on their child’s birth certificate.
The Prime Minister further went on to encourage the fathers that “not only should their names be on the child’s certificate, but they need to play an integral part in the development of the child’s life.”
She also commended Dr. Holness and her team for taking up the mandate and moving forward in the interest of Jamaica’s children.
At the same time Dr. Patricia Holness, the Chief Executive Officer of the RGD, stated that “registration activity got underway from 6:00 a.m. at all hospitals island wide.”
The CEO went on to say that “there has been an overwhelming increase in the number of children named and registered during the first day of the project.”
In looking at the RGD‘s statistics over a three year period shows that 30 percent of children born in hospital were fully registered.
However, the number of children registered at birth on the day moved from 30 percent to over 97 percent. Additionally over 65 percent of births occurring on the day were fully registered with the father’s particulars.
At the Victoria Jubilee Hospital a total of 34 babies were born and 33 were named and registered.
The RGD further reported that 22 out of the 34 children registered on the day had their father’s particulars entered on the registration forms.
At the St. Ann’s Bay Hospital all 4 babies born were named and fully registered. Three of these babies had their fathers particulars entered.
Also of 3 babies born and fully registered at the University Hospital of the West Indies, (UHWI), 2 had their father’s particulars entered.
These results are an indication that fathers are being more aware of the importance of adding their particulars on their children birth certificate.
Following the launch on Monday, results from the RGD officers stationed at Hospitals island wide, indicated that there has been a tremendous increase of parents visiting the hospitals to have their children named and fully registered.
Prior to the introduction of this new venture, children who were not named within the year would have had to be registered at the RGD through a process known as Late entry of name.
In instances where the father’s particulars were not entered at registration a status had to be carried out to add their father’s particulars.
This is a part of the Agency's on-going improvement initiative to have all children named and fully registered at birth.
This new system will provide additional safeguard against the challenges that children face when entering school in the early stage of their life, and ensuring that children benefit from constitutional rights and privileges.