See regions to benefit from phased rollout of free Ghana Card for children

The National Identification Authority (NIA), in collaboration with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), has commenced a free Ghana Card registration exercise for basic school pupils across the Volta Region.

A report by adomonline.com, on May 6, 2026, indicated that the exercise, which officially began on Tuesday, May 6, 2026, forms part of a nationwide initiative aimed at enrolling children between the ages of 6 and 14 into Ghana’s national identification system.

The Volta and Oti regions are the first to benefit from the phased rollout of the programme.

Speaking to Adom News, the Head of Corporate Affairs at the NIA, Williams Ampomah Darlas, said; "Registration teams will move from school to school to capture the biometric details of eligible pupils in both public and private institutions."

He noted that "the exercise is expected to run for at least 21 days in the region to ensure wider coverage."

According to him, the initiative is designed to "strengthen Ghana’s national identity database" while "improving access to essential public services" for children from an early age.

The nationwide exercise is expected to register about 3.1 million children.

Darlas called on parents and guardians to cooperate with registration officials by providing required documents, such as birth certificates or passports, to facilitate the process.

Authorities also indicated that "children who are not enrolled in school will have the opportunity to register at designated community centres."

NAD/VPO