Kajiado County has recorded a wide disparity in civil registration, with birth registration compliance standing at 92.7 per cent while that of death stands at 25.2 per cent.
County Civil Registrar Christine Gachau said the county’s birth registration rate was above the national average of 71 per cent, but death registration remained significantly below the national average of 46 per cent.
Gachau said the disparity highlighted the need to strengthen registration of both births and deaths to ensure residents obtain legal identity and that the government has reliable data for planning and service delivery.
Gachau, whose speech was read by Kajiado North Sub-County Civil Registrar, Erin Waithera, during the ninth Africa Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Day celebrations in Kajiado North, attributed the high birth registration rate to the operationalization of all eight sub-county civil registration offices, collaboration with stakeholders and the ‘Usajili Mashinani’ mobile registration programme implemented across six sub-counties.
The county also operates a civil registration desk at Kajiado Huduma Centre, while Kisamis Huduma Centre is at an advanced stage of operationalization.
However, Gachau identified inadequate funding, shortages of registration materials, limited office space, inadequate staffing, and insufficient training of registration agents as some of the challenges affecting service delivery in the region.
She also cited unreliable internet connectivity, lack of good vehicles for outreach and supervision, and delays in digitizing and properly managing historical records.
Gachau called for increased funding, provision of a county vehicle for outreach activities, accelerated digitization of records, and continuous capacity building for civil registration staff and registration agents.
“Birth registration is critical in giving children legal identity and enabling them to access essential services and rights. A birth certificate is the first official proof of a child’s existence and is required to access services, including healthcare and education, as well as obtaining a national identity card upon reaching adulthood,” she said.
Kajiado County Commissioner (CC), Michael Yator, urged parents and communities to ensure births and deaths are registered promptly to prevent residents from being excluded from essential services and government programmes.
Yator, whose speech was read by Kajiado North Deputy County Commissioner (DCC), Yusuf Mohamed, said failure to register vital events could complicate access to education, healthcare, social protection, and financial services, as well as inheritance processes.
“Every child deserves a legal identity from birth, while every death deserves to be officially recorded,” Yator said.
He commended Civil Registration staff for conducting a five-day mobile registration exercise from August 3rd to 7th in Ngong Township and Enchorr-Emuny sub-locations.
Yator urged chiefs, assistant chiefs, and village elders to identify unregistered births and deaths, mobilize residents during outreach exercises, and create awareness on the importance of civil registration.
He also called on health workers, Community Health Promoters (CHP), and religious leaders to support registration efforts by educating communities and linking families to registration services.
Jane Mworia, Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Country Manager at Vital Strategies Kenya urged the government to accelerate digitization and strengthen the integration of civil registration services with health and community health systems.
She said closer collaboration between registration authorities and the Ministry of Health would make it easier to register births and deaths while improving access to legal identity documents.
The ninth Africa CRVS Day was celebrated under the theme “Every Life Counted: Strengthening Civil Registration, Legal Identity, Vital Statistics, and Digitally Connected Public Services in Africa”.
The commemoration highlighted the importance of civil registration in protecting legal identity, generating reliable population data, and supporting evidence-based planning and delivery of public services.
By Byrone Ouma and Wangari Ndirangu
