National registration exercise gets partnership boost

Government has praised Saint Egidio for joining the national registration exercise.

Chief director of National Registration Bureau (NRB), Francis Chinsinga, said this in Blantyre on Monday, when opening a five-day training workshop for civil registry officers on birth and death registration Saint Egidio organised.

He said: “We are happy that they have joined other partners such as Plan Malawi, World Vision Malawi [WVM] and European Union [EU] to support us. It is my hope that with their support will reach out children aged 16 and below.”

Chinsinga added that since the exercise started in August this year, the bureau has received 6 000 birth records and issued 2 500 certificates.

Chief director for International Statistical Development, Lucky Ngwenya, described the training a vital foundation for successful implementation of births and deaths registration.

Head of Saint Egidio in Malawi, Ellard Alumando, said his organisation has carried out same exercises in Mozambique and Burkina Faso.

Community of Saint Egidio started in Rome in 1968 by a group of students and since 1990 it has involved in the registration exercises. n