Tema records 22,333 births, 2,158 deaths last year

Tema, Jan. 3, GNA - The Tema Municipal Registry of Births and Deaths recorded a total of 22,333 births and 2,158 deaths between January and November last year.

The 11-month record of 2007 shows an increase in birth registration as compared to the 18,713 registrations recorded in the whole of 2006. Out of the 22,333 births registered, 5,381 were recorded in the first quarter, 5,252 in the second quarter, 7,647 in the third quarter and a total of 4,053 in October and November.

Madam Hannah Twumasi-Ankrah, Tema Municipal Birth and Death Director, who made the records available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said the total of 2,158 deaths registered during the period showed a slight decrease compared to the 2,233 deaths recorded in 2006. Madam Twumasi-Ankrah gave the break down of the total deaths as 629 in the first quarter, 537 in the second quarter, 590 in the third quarter and 402 in October and November. She cautioned against double registration and asked parents to memorize some important information on the birth certificate and also make copies available to their wards.

"Information such as the district of registration, the entry number and date of registration is needed for the retrieval of other information from the Births and Deaths Registry for the issuance of a copy of the original certificate when it gets lost or torn", she explained.

Madam Twumasi-Ankrah, said about 85 percent of Ghanaians had lost their birth certificates while majority could not provide any information for the issuance of a duplicate and do not remember the important information needed for the issuance of a duplicate leading to re-registration.

She urged parents to educate their children on the information on their birth certificates from age eight and make copies available to them for keep from 12 years as this would encourage them to cultivate the habit of document keeping and also learn the importance of birth registration.

Madam Twumasi-Ankrah further encouraged parents not to delay the registration of their children's birth as waiting too long might cost them some vital information needed.

She entreated them to visit the registry in the district in which they gave birth before relocating to another district or region and advised against demanding written notes from officials of the registry to be presented to school authorities for admission of the children in school in the absence of birth certificates. To encourage more people to register the birth of their children, she said her outfit during the year had embarked on public education and house-to-house registration.