Obstacles to Births Registration in Urban African Evidence from the Ouagadougou Health and Demographic Surveillance System

Abdramane Soura, Université de Ouagadougou

The civil registration of a birth is the official proof of his existence. It gives him the right to nationality, and also access to certain privileges (access to education, employment, right to marriage, etc.). Unfortunately, according to statistics from UNICEF, 51 million children worldwide are not registered (UNICEF, 2009). This situation is unfortunately more common in developing countries, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa where about 2 out of 3 children are not registered (UNICEF, 2009). The objective of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of this problem. By combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, it examines factors associated with non-registration of births in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, where approximately 1 in 4 children are not registered. We use logistic regression to highlight the importance of individual and family characteristics. We also use in-depth interviews conducted for a better understanding of the quantitative results.