Gbarnga, Bong County – The Center for Justice and Peace Studies (CJPS) in collaboration with the Bong County Health Team has commenced a birth registration mobile campaign in Bong County.
The campaign is being carried out in Suakoko, Salala and Jorquelleh Districts.
According to CJPS’ program officer Francis Konyon, the campaign is intended to provide access to free birth registration services for children between 0 to 12 years in rural communities.
Konyon also said the move is intended to ease constraints faced by citizens living far from the service center in Gbarnga.
“Our people are challenged and accessing services at the service center is difficult because of their distance. So, CJPS in collaboration with the Bong County Health Team has deemed it necessary to take the campaign to rural dwellers,” Konyon said.
“Some of the challenges people have expressed is that they don’t have the means to come to the County Service Center to access the facility.
“We are also providing direct support to the birthday registration unit at the Bong County Service Center as a way of sustaining our actions,” Konyon added.
This initiative is in support of the government’s decentralization program, and it is a part of a project sponsored by the Kingdom of the Netherlands through the Dutch Embassy in Ghana.
Describing birth certificate as cardinal to every Liberian, Konyon called on mothers to take advantage of the campaign so as to avoid future embarrassment.
“The birth certificate is important because it helps in combating child trafficking. Birth certificate gives right to inheritance. Is a requirement to get national passport,” he said. “Obtaining a birth certificate is very important for every Liberian that’s why we are encouraging mothers to come out and take advantage of the process,” Konyon said.
He disclosed that CJPS wants to enhance advocacy in the fight against child marriage, Child trafficking, child labor and enhance support to immunization and education planning etc. through the promotion of birth registration.
“We have been working in collaboration with the Dutch Embassy in Accra, Ghana,” he added.
Nyanquoi Urey, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of the County Health Team, thanked CJPS for the initiative and said it will aid them in reaching out to residents in the rural parts of the county.
Urey admitted that accessing the County Service Center has been a challenge for many citizens, and is hoping that CJPS will get additional funding to enable the County Health Team tour the 13 administrative districts of the county.