Insufficient civil registries in Africa could exclude millions of people from covid-19 vaccination because they lack access to documentation and health services, concludes a Mo Ibrahim Foundation study cited by Lusa.
According to the study "Covid-19 in Africa: a difficult road to recovery," more than 50% of children born in Africa have no legal existence due to lack of registration, services that were disrupted or interrupted during the pandemic.
Forecasts by the authors indicate that the number will exceed 100 million children without civil registration by 2030 if there is no investment in this public service. Currently, birth registration is free in only four of 24 countries in West and Central Africa, so costs may discourage its use and undermine the covid-19 vaccination campaign. Without civil registration, citizens have no identification documents and no access to public health services, which may make immunization unavailable.
On the one hand, in South Africa, an estimated 15.3 million people are not officially registered, which could exclude almost 30% of the population from vaccination, the study indicates. On the other hand, only eight countries (Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, South Africa, and Tunisia) have a universal death registration system.
The study cites the WHO, which estimates that the number of covid-19-associated infection cases and deaths on the continent are well above what is officially reported. Insufficient civilian records impact measures and policies to control the pandemic or evaluate outcomes, the authors warn.
"Until there is relevant and robust data, it is very difficult to define public policy and assess whether it is going in the right direction. That is why we created the Ibrahim Index of African Governance and have consistently advocated for the past 10 years for investment in civil registration systems," said Mo Ibrahim Foundation Executive Director Nathalie Delapalme.
Cape Verde is the best performing African country in this area, with Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea improving since 2010.
The study "Covid-19 in Africa: A Difficult Road to Recovery" consists of an analysis by the Foundation of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) data in the areas of health, society and economics.
Among the many challenges facing the continent are more accessible health care, greater preparedness for future pandemics, fighting gender discrimination, and investment in education and social support systems.
The authors assess the performance of each African country over the past decade to pinpoint problems and make suggestions about where governments should focus efforts in recovering from the covid-19 pandemic. "The impact of covid-19 has brought to the fore a spectrum of complex governance challenges facing African nations," stressed the Foundation's president, Sudanese businessman and philanthropist Mo Ibrahim, who hopes the study will help politicians, the private sector and civil society "put Africa back on the road to recovery."
Source Lusa