The right to identity begins at birth. Being registered with the civil registry means being recognized by the state and having access to education, healthcare, and social protection. Without an identity, a child may find themselves excluded from essential services that should otherwise be guaranteed to them.
In the countries where we operate, the reality on the ground shows just how fragile access to this right remains.
In Madagascar, birth registration is declining: the national rate fell from 83% in 2012 to 74% in 2021*. In several regions of the country, registering a birth remains a real challenge. Families sometimes live far from civil registry offices, infrastructure is limited, and many parents lack the information needed to understand the importance of this process.
In the Philippines, more than 3.5 million people are not registered with the civil registry, including 1.3 million children*. This lack of official recognition leaves them more vulnerable to violence, discrimination, abuse, exploitation, and neglect—including by public institutions. This situation particularly affects the country’s indigenous communities, such as the Sama-Bajau, whose mobility and marginalization account for historically low registration rates.
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- 1 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and National Survey for Monitoring the MDGs (NSMMG) by INSTAT
- 2 Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).