First Lady Raquel Arbaje, who chairs the Childhood and Adolescence Cabinet of the Abinader Presidency, led the launching of the inter-institutional plan for timely and late birth registration presented on 31 May 2022 at the Presidential Palace.
The initiative is coordinated by the Childhood and Adolescence Cabinet and the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence (Conani). The plan is to be implemented by ten public entities in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).
The other government participating entities are: Central Electoral Board (JCE), the Ministry of Public Health (MSP), Strategic and Special Projects (Propeep), the National Health Service (SNS), the National Institute of Integral Attention to Early Childhood (Inaipi), the Judiciary, the Attorney General’s Office, Supérate and the Ministry of Education (Minerd).
In the presentation, First Lady Raquel Arbaje highlighted its importance in the high numbers of Dominicans of all ages who lack identity documents and the harmful consequences this has on their personal and public lives.
This plan is part of the Inter-Institutional Cooperation Agreement for Timely and Late Birth Registration, signed by the entities in July 2021. Training activities were carried out at 24 public hospitals to motivate more registrations at birth at the hospitals.
If a child is not registered in the first month after birth, a lengthy procedure is required. The red tape has resulted in many children not being declared with serious consequences, especially when they seek to enter secondary education.
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Presidency
1 June 2022