Arismendy Diaz Santana, general manager of the National Council for Social Security (CNSS) announced yesterday the symbolic start of the new universal social security coverage in the eastern provinces of El Seibo and Hato Mayor, the least populated in the eastern region. The process has likewise symbolically started in the southwestern provinces, but funds have yet to be made available to implement the programs.
Speaking during the event marking the start of the process, Diaz Santana said that one of the major obstacles to the process is the fact that an estimated 1.6 million Dominicans do not have birth certificates. To register for the health programs, individuals must have cedulas. To get a cedula, the individual must first have a birth certificate.
D?az says he supports legislation in Congress that would extend the time period for the registering of babies to 180 days. Only now are systems being implemented so as to automatically register children in some public hospitals, but most of burden continues to be on the parents to make the declaration at birth. The same bill would reduce the red tape to register a child after the cut date.