THE Registration Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA)’s provision of free birth certificates to children under the age of five in Tanzania Mainland has been cited as one of the initiatives that directly benefit citizens.

According to statistics, over 10 million children, which equals 68 percent have been registered across all 26 regions in Tanzania Mainland and issued birth certificates, compared to 13 percent when the programme started in 2012.

Speaking during the event to mark Registration of Vital Events and Statistics Day in Africa held at the national level at Nanenane grounds on Saturday in Dodoma, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Constitutional and Legal Affairs Dr Khatibu Kazungu, praised RITA for that drive.

He said that through RITA, the government has begun taking significant steps to accelerate registration through the National Strategy for the Registration of Vital Events and Statistics.

"Every 10th of August, Tanzania joins other African countries in commemorating this important day, which carries the theme ‘Strengthening the Relationship Between Vital Event Registration and Statistics with Legal Systems for Digital Inclusive Identification,’" he said.

He added that the government in collaboration with development partners will continue implementing strategies to ensure sustainability of the programme for registering and issuing birth certificates to children under five.

This includes ensuring that every newborn is registered promptly and that their information is sent to the RITA database promptly.

"I urge parents to take advantage of this government initiative to obtain birth certificates for their children since the certificates are essential identification documents," he said.

Frank Kanyusi, RITA chief executive officer, said that the agency decided to mark the African Events and Statistics Day during the recently concluded NaneNane celebrations to raise public awareness about the importance of recording vital events such as births, deaths, divorces, marriages and child adoptions.

"In observing this day, we conduct various activities, including public education, providing registration services and visiting registration centres to identify challenges and find solutions," he said.

Asnath Barnabas, Child Protection Officer at UNICEF, stated that the organisation will continue to collaborate with the government to achieve its set goals.

"We will continue to work with the government of Tanzania and various development partners to ensure all children are registered and issued with certificates as well as to record all important events, including births and deaths," she said.