Dogbo records births by sms
15 December 2016
The city of Dobgo in Benin uses new technologies to register births, thanks to a partnership with the city of Roeselare (Belgium). This article was published in the latest issue of Glo.be, the magazine of the Belgian Development Cooperation.
Remote areas in African countries are inaccessible due to the poor state of roads and the registration of all births, particularly in Dogbo (Benin), is sometimes impossible. Five years ago, half of the parents did not even register births. Unregistered persons do not officially exist and therefore cannot claim their rights.
This is why the city of Roeselare (Belgium), twinned with Dogbo, works for a better recording: the city has hired a manager per commune to register the births. He goes to the maternity wards or to the parents’ home and takes care of the recordings. On Friday morning, the managers send by SMS an update of the data to the population department. All recordings are recorded in digital format at City Hall. Thanks to the commitment of additional staff in the communes, the registration reaches almost a rate of 100%.
Since 2010 Roeselare is twinned with Dogbo in Benin. The aim of this partnership is to allow the two local governments to exchange their knowledge and experiences. Roeselare and Dogbo have chosen to work together on common themes such as birth registration, market, culture… The commitment of its citizens is an important component for the city of Roeselare.
Find this article page 11 of Glo.be magazine.