By EDDIE OSIFELO
ABOUT 3,000 babies are dying every year from an estimated 20,000 babies born throughout the country.
Minister of Home Affairs, Christopher Laore confirmed this when asked by Leader of Opposition, Mathew Wale during the Committee of Supply in Parliament yesterday.
However, Laore said until recently, less than one per cent of those babies would have been officially registered and provided a birth certificate, placing their rights and protection at risk.
He said concerted and collaborative efforts by the Government and its development partners since 2010 have brought this figure closer to 34 per cent.
But Laore said still only 12 per cent of deaths are being registered, missing this indispensable opportunity to understand who is dying, where and why.
Furthermore, Laore adds that as of 31st December 2020, total registered babies are numbered at 249,190, a coverage of 34.53 percent of the 721,455 population on the current census.
He said out of the 34.53 percent, 87 percent (216,795) of it are under year olds.
“Ministry of Home Affairs and Development partners have been working closing in rolling out the new birth and death notification forms to register all new born babies across Solomon Islands and also capturing real time death data.
“A nationwide drive to register the birth of every person in the Solomon Islands is a must,” he said.
