Only about 61% of children in Ghana have a birth certificate, UNICEF Representative to Ghana Andy Brooks has said, warning that those who are not officially recorded risk being overlooked when public services are planned.
Mr Brooks was speaking at the Eighth International Research Conference of the College of Humanities at the University of Ghana. The event was scheduled for Wednesday, November 4 and Thursday, November 5 at the Cedi Conference Centre, Legon.
The conference theme was “Inclusion as a Global Imperative: Confronting Inequality and Advancing Equity, Justice, and Innovation in a Fragmenting World.”
“The children are not being counted, and if they are not being counted, planners are unable to provide the right level of health, education and other social services for them,” Mr Brooks said.
He described the scale of the problem in Boapasi in the Eastern Region, where only a small number of the hundreds of children who attended an event had birth certificates. Weak telecommunications networks and digital registration systems that are difficult for remote communities to access contribute to the shortfall, he said.
Why birth registration matters
UNICEF Ghana describes a birth certificate as a child’s first official proof of identity. It can help children access healthcare, education and social protection, while also supporting future applications for a passport or a Ghana Card.
Children without evidence of their birth may also face greater vulnerability to exploitation.
Mr Brooks said nearly four in 10 children remained undocumented based on available data. By the end of 2025, the Births and Deaths Registry had recorded 588,972 births, representing 73.4% of the expected total. That figure measures annual registration coverage rather than the number of children who already possess certificates.
Professor Samuel Arday Codjoe, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Development and chairperson of the conference, said postgraduate research using Ghana Demographic and Health Survey data found that gender, ethnicity, marital status and religion affected the likelihood of registration.
He highlighted the finding that children born to Muslim mothers were significantly more likely to be registered than those born to Christian mothers, and called for the result to be tested against the latest survey.
Registering a birth
Births are registered in the district where the child was born. The Births and Deaths Registry permits the mother or father, the next of kin of either parent, the occupier of the place of birth, an adult present at the birth or a caretaker to complete the registration.
Within the first year, a parent must take the maternal health record book to the district office and provide the child’s name, date and place of birth, together with the parents’ details. A claim of nationality must be supported by a national ID, passport or naturalisation certificate.
Under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 2020 (Act 1027), registration within 12 months is free, as is the certificate. The registry also says infant applications carry no charge.
Its published fee list sets late-registration charges at GH¢10 for children aged one to five and GH¢20 after five years, although a shorter answer on the same page gives the late-registration penalty as GH¢20. Parents are advised to confirm the amount at the district office before paying.
Late applications require evidence of birth, including a weighing card or a baptismal certificate issued within five years of the birth.
Five years after the Act came into force on October 6, 2020, a birth certificate became a requirement for enrolment in pre-school or basic school. For Ghana Card registration between the ages of six and 14, the National Identification Authority requires an original birth certificate, a valid Ghanaian passport or a certificate of acquired citizenship. The same requirement applies to its Northern Region registration.
Where none of those documents is available, a parent or guardian may swear an oath of identity. The registry accepts no responsibility for payments made outside its official digital payment platform.
