Household and Context-Level Determinants of Birth Registration in Sub-Saharan Africa

Anne Lieke Ebbers , Radboud University Nijmegen
Jeroen Smits , Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen

While birth registration is a human right, in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) only half of new-born children is currently registered. To gain insight into the reasons behind this low registration rate, we study the role of determinants at household, local and country level using data on 567,407 children in 34 SSA countries. While most of the variation in birth registration is due to factors at the household level, context factors are found to play an important role as well. At the household level, poverty, low education, a missing father, restricted autonomy of women, and belonging to a traditional religion negatively affect registration. Lack of professional care during pregnancy, delivery, and early life are also associated with less registration. Important factors at context level are urbanization and availability of health facilities in the local area and birth registration legislation, a decentralized registration system, and lower overall fertility at the national level. To improve registration, the complex dynamics of the relevant factors at household and context level has to be taken into account.

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 Presented in Session P1. Postercafe