Minister of Homeland Security, Hon. Peter Mukhito has expressed satisfaction with the implementation of Phase One of the National Birth Registration Campaign (NBRC) which came to an end on Wednesday, 4th February 2026.
Mr. Mukhito made the remarks after a tour of four selected centres in Dedza district on Tuesday, 3rd February 2026.
Dedza is one of the five districts of the NBRC Phase 1 which the National Registration Bureau (NRB) was implementing for ten days from 26th January to 4th February 2026.
In Dedza, the minister visited Dedza Government, Kapalamula, Muonekera, and Kantchito primary schools to appreciate how the registration exercise was being conducted.
Addressing development partners and other stakeholders after the tour, the minister noted that in spite of the few challenges witnessed during the visit, the exercise progressed very well.
“I am optimistic that we will reach the targeted child population to be registered here in Dedza district, and may be in all the districts,” stated Mr. Mukhito.
He therefore called upon NRB to continue mobilizing parents or guardians in the phase one districts and the subsequent phases to have their children registered.
The NRB Principal Secretary Mr. Patrick Machika commended the minister for taking his time to tour the activity saying that alone shows Government of Malawi commitment towards ensuring every child is registered in the country.
“I would like to assure the people of Malawi that NRB will ensure that this exercise is well executed to ensure that we register every child in Malawi,” said Mr. Machika.
The National Birth Registration Campaign is targeting about 4.6 million children not registered by NRB and about 3.2 million registered but without a Birth Certificate.
The exercise is being supported with funds from the Government of Malawi.
Speaking after the tour, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative Ms. Fenella Frost commended the Malawi Government for the exercise stressing that this is a step in the right direction towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 16.9.
SDG Target 16.9 encourages nations to provide legal identity for all, including birth registration, by 2030
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By Norman Clement Fulatira