The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) yesterday donated US$48,053 ($9,658,653) to the Rights of the Child Commission, for a birth registration survey and the crafting of a strategic plan for the Commission.
UNICEF Representative Dr Suleiman Braimoh stated that the funds will be used for conducting of a birth registration survey/research and advocacy, which will support universal birth registration in Guyana in regions 1, 2, 7 and 10; and the crafting of a five-year strategic plan for the Rights of the Child Commission. He was at the time handing over the cheque to Chief Executive Officer of the Commission William Boston and its Deputy Chairperson Rosemary Benjamin-Noble.
The partnership between the two organisations came about after a meeting held in 2010, where the need to perfect and keep solid evidence-based data of the birth registration of every Guyanese child was identified.
The hinterland regions were chosen as the areas for study, since it is known that because of geographical constraints, and inadequate representation, children there may not have been registered. As a result, UNICEF, in partnership with the government, plans to ensure that every child is given this basic right; that is the right to an identity.
Braimoh stressed that UNICEF continues to work not just in Guyana but globally to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path.
Boston and Benjamin-Noble thanked UNICEF for the donation. They both pledged quality performance on the two projects. Benjamin Noble said the commission will also engage relevant authorities and offices, to ensure the research and plan are painstakingly done.
