The Role of Vital Event Registration for Child Rights Protection: The Case of South West Ethiopia, Jimma Zone, Omo Nada Woreda

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.