Mother to child: How discrimination prevents women registering the birth of their child

Millions of children could be going unregistered as mothers around the world face widespread discrimination when it comes to birth registration. A study commissioned by Plan in 50 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean shows that even where legal provisions exist, mothers routinely suffer multiple barriers to birth registration due to local attitudes and discriminatory cultural practices. In developing countries (excluding China), only half of children aged under five are registered. In South Asia alone, 23 million under-fives aren’t registered, while sub-Saharan Africa has the highest percentage (66%) of unregistered under-fives. The study makes several recommendations for the work required to affect change.