A recent UNICEF report confirmed significant progress in eradicating the problem of the millions of “invisible” babies, although it estimated that close to 150 million children under five years of age are not registered.

For Unicef’s executive director, Catherine Russel, the phenomenon demands action because registration guarantees a child’s legal identity, prevents statelessness and facilitates access to essential services such as health care, education and social protection.

It is more than a legal formality, the head of Unicef said.

According to the agency, another 50 million children with registered births still lack birth certificates, a key document for proving registration and obtaining nationality.

The report also showed uneven progress in terms of global registration rates, which increased from 75 percent in 2019 to 77 percent this year.

The regions of Latin America and the Caribbean, East and Southeast Asia, and Central and South Asia top the list with less than 30 percent of unregistered births

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