Government introduces unique PIN-Personal Identifier for newborns
Government introduces a unique PIN-Personal Identifier for newborns in compliance with the Births and Deaths Registration Act
Government introduces a unique PIN-Personal Identifier for newborns in compliance with the Births and Deaths Registration Act.
The State Department of Immigration and Citizen Services of the Kenyan government stated that babies would receive a Unique Personal Identifier (UPI).
The PIN will be allocated to children born in Kenya who merit Kenyan citizenship.
On January 22, State Department Permanent Secretary Julius Bitok listed the circumstances in which children born outside of Kenya will be given UPI.
“In compliance with the Births and Deaths Registration Act, it will also be adopted for children born outside the country to Kenyan citizens and who are eligible for Kenyan citizenship,” Bitok explained in a statement.
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Why PIN-Personal Identifier for newborns-UPI
The PS explained reasons why the UPI will be important
“The birth registration stage an attractive genesis for foundation data.
“In respect to this, the UPI will be the birth certificate number and it will also be a personalized referenced detail akin to the current Identity Card number,” the State Department explained.
In case of death, UPI will be used as the death certificate number according to the government.
“This will be important in bridging the current documentation deficit and enhancing the accuracy of official mortality records.
“When deaths are not reported, it inflates population figures and also abets identity theft crimes and manipulation of numbers in elections and other contests,” the State Department explained.
Bitok further elucidated that UPI will be adopted as the official reference for a host of services that currently demand separate identities.
“Some of the services that will use UPI include; the school’s admission number and index number, as an ID number when someone attains 18 years, the registration number for National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and the Driving License Number,” Bitok explained.
The administration declared that it will dissolve numerous state agencies involved in separate registrations if UPI is implemented.
The dissolution of those organizations, according to Bitok, will free up staff, money, and other limited resources for other need.
“It will also obviate different registration numbers and hasten the generation of a clear, integrated, and harmonized register,” he added.
UPI will amount to an affirmation of citizenship and negate the screening of populations living along international borders as a security need before the issuing of IDs and passports, which will advance equity and justice in access to services.
When asked how it differs from Huduma Number, Bitok stated that “UPI will reuse an existing and continuous exercise, whereas the latter attempted to register citizens anew but under a different framework.”
Bitok clarified that nurses and other medical staff at maternity centers will register newborns, while assistant chiefs will register births in the community.
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