Underlying Dynamics of Child Birth Registration in Zimbabwe

By accentuating the potential adverse impacts of the absence of a birth certificate on a child’s well-being across their life cycle, human rights organisations have made a strong case for universal child birth registration. Consequently, in most developing countries, people’s awareness of the importance of birth registration has dramatically increased. Yet in Zimbabwe, universal birth registration remains a pipe dream. Drawing on a mixed-method study of birth registration in Zimbabwe’s Bindura district, the article addresses this paradox by closely examining the underlying dynamics of birth registration success. It finds that birth registration outcomes emerge from a dynamic interplay of economic, non-economic, personal and structural factors. Moreover, whereas existing research tends to accentuate economic determinants of birth registration, social and cultural factors are equally important influences of birth registration success.