Kiambu civil registrar has said delays in registration of births that occur at home, has hampered the smooth issuance of birth certificates in the county.
Speaking in her office on Thursday, Jane Wangari said that most of the mothers who give birth at home do not bother to report to the area assistant chiefs as required.
Wangari said it was unfortunate that other parents, who acquire the notification cards, dump them in their houses and eventually lose them making it difficult for their children to be registered correctly and on time.
According to the civil registrar, many mothers register with the assistant chiefs but such registration are never forwarded to the registrar’s office in time thus delaying the registration.
She noted that records from health centres where most of the mothers deliver are also never submitted in time for processing.
Wangari said that parents should avoid last minute rush and ensure they acquire the certificates as soon as their children are born adding that the legal document was necessary and should be processed on time.
“Despite the public sensitisation at the grassroots level, few parents have responded positively to register their children,” she said.
She expressed concern that very few mothers turn up to register their children stating that Kiambu sub-county is highly populated yet has very few registered children.
Wangari said the department has embarked on digitising the department to make it easier for registration and retrieval of information.
This, she said, would enable the department to avoid situations where people lie about their information.