Gambia: Over One Million Gambians Registered With Digital Birth Certificates, National Health Insurance

The Deputy Director of Civil Registration of Birth Certificates and National Health Insurance at the Ministry of Health, Mr Baboucarr Janneh on Monday, 24 June 2024 informed this medium that over one million Gambians have been registered and got the new digital birth certificates and national health insurance.

Mr Janneh said the issuing of digital birth certificates and national health insurance are still ongoing in all public health facilities across the country.

“We have our public health officers in all the public health facilities across the country to ease the process and make sure that all Gambians and children born in the Gambia with non-Gambian parents are registered and get the new birth certificates,” he said.

In 2023, the Gambia Government through the Ministry of Health introduced the National Health Insurance Scheme as part of ongoing efforts to make healthcare accessible and affordable to all Gambians and the registration process lasted for three months throughout the country at no cost to citizens.

The new system dubbed Civil Registration and Vital Statistics involves service providers, supervisors, data entry clerks, and verification officers to ensure that the data given to each individual will be continuous, permanent, universal, and confidential to the state.

“The requirements for the acquisition of the digital birth certificates and national health insurance include are authentic birth certificate, valid national identification card, infant welfare care, antenatal care for newborns, passport or Alkalos attestation, and the supporting documents from applicant parents including one of the following: birth certificate, national identification card, passport, antenatal card or death certificate,” he said.

MrJanneh said as of now, from birth to five years registration is free but above five years, the registration fee is D12.5.

However, he said they are facing a lot of challenges in his Department, especially with mobility and some people are not coming out to get registered. “We also need a lot of sensitization programs because now people are not responding as they used to,” he explained.