KATHMANDU, Dec 12: A study has shown that parents face various problems in acquiring birth certificates for their children. A preliminary report released by a Nepal-based research institute has suggested reforming laws in order to facilitate parents to register the birth of their children.

The study conducted by Himal Innovative Development and Research Pvt Ltd with the support of the National Child Rights Council has pointed out the obstacles in birth registration in Nepal and suggested measures to remove them.

According to the report, birth registration of children is not possible in many cases due to the lack of citizenship certificates of the father or mother. There are also problems in birth registration if the parents’ marriage is not registered and also if the birth registration office is far away. The report mentions that the laws need to be amended to facilitate birth registration. It has also suggested arrangements for online registration of birth.

The report was prepared on the basis of a case study of 1,671 children including 859 males and 812 females of all seven provinces.

According to the preliminary report, 95.7 percent of children's births have been registered. The remaining 5 percent of children's births could not be registered due to non-registration of marriages, divorce, migration, and death of parents, among other reasons. According to the report, it is seen that only 23.5 percent of the Dalit community members have registered the birth of their children.

The highest number of births has been registered in Lumbini Province at 97.8 percent and the lowest at 87.5 percent in Gandaki Province.

 
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