Garoua and Tiko, Cameroon – A year ago, Oumarou Sanda, mayor of Garoua 2 in northern Cameroon, raised a trophy above his head after his municipality was named Cameroon’s Citizenship Champion for its efforts to expand birth registration.The recognition, awarded through UNICEF-supported initiatives in partnership with the Cameroonian government, marked months of work to address one of the country’s most persistent but often invisible child protection gaps: the absence of legal identity for thousands of children.Under Cameroon’s civil status law, every child has the right to a birth certificate. Parents are expected to register births within 90 days at no cost. After that period, registration becomes more complex, and after one year, families must go through court procedures that are often costly, time-consuming, and difficult to navigate.For many parents, that system remains out of reach.“One of my eldest children was sent home years ago from school because we didn’t have his official papers,” says Aissatou Bouba, a mother of four living in Garoua 2.That changed in 2024 when she brought her youngest child to a local health facility where staff registered the birth immediately after delivery, issuing the documents needed to establish his legal identity.Her experience reflects …
