Journey of a displaced mother to ensure her child’s legal identity
Child protection through birth registration among conflict-affected communities
Keshaltiye Geresu (27) currently lives in the Lultu internally displaced persons (IDP) camp with her husband Gedano Kechulo (29) and her six children. She fled her village, Garche in Konso Zone of South Ethiopia region in November 2020. Like Keshalitye, over 3,600 people have left Garche village to take refuge in Lultu IDP camp due to violence which erupted on the 15th of November 2020 in various villages of Segen Zuria district spreading to neighbouring districts and villages. It caused a large-scale displacement in Konso with over 68,000 displaced persons in 2020. Currently, half of the displaced people are living in temporary shelters, and the other half are living among the host communities.
Between hope and skepticism about resettling in her home village after 3 years in a camp, Keshaltiye tells her journey from Garche village to Lultu camp and her birth registration experiene.
“I was living in peace with my neighbours. Suddenly, the communal violence broke out and everyone ran in different directions, for their lives. I lost everything. My house was burned into ash. My cattle and grain were robbed, and coffee and banana plants were destroyed. I had no choice but to flee to a nearby village. On our way to Lultu camp, my children were starved and sick,” said Keshaltiye.
After her arrival, life in the camp was difficult and she had to adjust to camp life in Lultu. After Keshaltiye and her family moved to Lultu IDP camp, she gave birth to a baby boy, Gedion who is 10 months old now.
“I received a birth notification paper in Hilota Health Centre, where I gave birth”, explains Keshaltiye. "The midwives taught me the benefits of registering the birth of my child, Gedion. I also heard the same information from the kebele (sub-district) chairperson, who always travels from house to house in the camp and announces the benefits of registering the birth of children. My son was registered on 23rd of November 2023. I learned that registering birth would help to know the exact age of my child. It also helps to know the correct age for school enrollment. I was convinced that registering the birth of a child is equivalent to providing identity and ensuring legacy. I would encourage all mothers to register the birth of their children like me.”
"Before coming to the Lultu camp, I was not aware of the benefits of registering the birth of children," reported Taye Geresu, a trained birth registrar with UNICEF support and a displaced person himself. Being a kebele manager, he supports all sectors and has often a busy work schedule.
“My birth was not registered, and I can't correctly tell my age right now and cannot transfer my legacy to my children in a documented form. The support I am earning from the health extension worker, Belayenesh, in this camp is also an additional source of encouragement for me to tirelessly register children living in the IDP camp,” says Taye.
“I am enthusiastic to promote birth registration along with health issues because it helps me to know the correct age of children for immunization, and to council mothers for exclusive breastfeeding among others," explains Belayenesh Kora, health extension worker in Lultu camp. “The training and mentorship I receive from Konso Zone Vital Events coordination office through UNICEF support helps me to understand the benefits of birth registration for health outcomes”.
Evidence shows that birth registration has multiple layers of benefits. At the system level, it generates statistical information on population dynamics and health indicators that decision-makers use to inform planning, implementation, and monitoring. At the individual level, it helps to establish legal identity and protects children from child marriage, child labour, trafficking, and illegal detention. It also helps to ensure inheritance, voting, and the ability to get a passport.
Thanks to the financial support of the German National Committee for UNICEF’s Support, over 160,200 children have accessed and are about to access birth certificates from the drought response plan in the Oromia, Somali, and South Ethiopia regions.
