Abstract:
Civil registration is an administrative system that involves the continuous gathering of
information on all relevant vital events, including birth, marriage, divorce, adoption, and death.
Event registration is the basis for developing a legal and administrative information system that
protects and safeguards most of the rights and privileges of citizens endorsed. The purpose of the
study is to examine the role of vital event registration for child rights protection in the case of
Jimma Zone, Omo Nada woreda. A mixed research method was employed to conduct this research.
The survey was conducted using structured questions and 286 sample household heads were
selected using simple random sampling from 10 Kebele administrations. Qualitative data was
collected through in-depth interviews with 12 vital event registration task force members and civil
status officers, and two FGDs conducted with boys and girls. The result indicated that the
utilization of vital event documents is less for proof of age, to be enrolled in school, nutrition
assessment, immunization, and parental relationships. Hence, the role of this vital event for child
rights protection in Omo Nada is insignificant.
The coverage of event registration and awareness of the community and the public service
integration to use vital events for legal and administrative purposes are limited. The requirement
of a vital event certificate for public service has the potential to increase the demand for civil
status documents, as well as help in child protection by screening their age for health services,
enrolment in education, legal services, and statistical purposes. Nevertheless, in Omo Nada, the
use of civil status documents for child rights protection was less relevant. Based on these findings,
integration of implementing bodies and utilization of vital event documents are recommended to
improve the role of vital events in child rights protection.
