Over 2,000 registered babies fatherless – Statistical report

The 2022 Statistical Report on birth registration has shed light on several key aspects of Ghana's demographic landscape.

Among the findings, it was revealed that out of all registered births, 0.3% (2,099 cases) presented doubtful paternity, indicating situations where the father's identity was uncertain.

The Upper East Region showed the highest percentage (0.8%) of such cases, followed by the Central Region (0.7%), and the Western, Eastern, and Volta regions (0.5% each).

Interestingly, nearly all registered births (99.9%) in the Upper West, Bono East, Ashanti, Savannah, Northern, and North East regions had known paternity, with fathers identified.

Additionally, the report highlighted that almost all mothers (99.96%) registering their infants' births had some level of formal education.

Notably, 52% of all registered births were by mothers with secondary, vocational, or technical education, while 14% attended only primary school, and 9.7% attended tertiary institutions.

The Greater Accra Region stood out with the highest percentage (20.1%) of mothers having tertiary education.

Regarding age distribution, approximately 27.0% of registered infants were born to mothers aged 25-29, followed by those aged 30-34 (23.3%), and 20-24 (22%).

Mothers below 15 years recorded the least births (0.1%), while those aged 40 and above accounted for 5.4% of births.

The report also covered registered deaths, totaling 50,992.

A significant majority of deaths occurred in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, or Eastern regions, with males accounting for six out of every ten registered deaths.

Greater Accra, Eastern, Ashanti, and Bono regions exceeded the national average of registered deaths, indicating disproportionately higher figures.

At the launch of the report, the Acting Registrar of the Births and Deaths Registry, Ms. Henrietta Lamptey, emphasized its importance in providing reliable information for public policy development and socio-economic planning.

The report reflects the registry's commitment to universal coverage of birth and death registration, with initiatives such as the Community Population Register and digitization of registration processes.

Deputy Minister of the Ministry for Local Government and Rural Development, Osei-Bonsu Amoah, highlighted the report's relevance to Ghana's socio-economic development.

He commended the substantial increase in birth registration rates, attributing it to government efforts towards achieving universal birth registration and sustainable development goals.

This progress signifies Ghana's commitment to ensuring every child is registered and accounted for.