Govt to Spend MK7bn to Register 4.6 Million Unregistered Children
Government has allocated MK7 billion towards a nationwide National Registration Campaign aimed at registering about 4.6 million unregistered children across the country.
Minister of Homeland Security Peter Mukhito said the campaign will be rolled out in seven phases across 25 districts, with a strong focus on children who currently have no legal identity.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lilongwe, Mukhito said registering children is not just an administrative exercise but a national obligation.
“Government cannot allow this generation of children to grow up without legal identity, protection, and access to the rights and opportunities they deserve. Comprehensive birth registration provides accurate data for development planning, budgeting, service delivery and policy formulation, while also strengthening identity management systems and curbing fraud and age manipulation,” he said.
Mukhito explained that the National Registration Bureau (NRB) requires about MK17.8 billion to fully implement the exercise over more than one financial year. In the 2025/2026 Financial Year, government has already allocated MK5.4 billion, which funded the first two phases of the campaign conducted in Karonga, Lilongwe Rural East, Mwanza and Balaka.
He said the remaining five phases will require MK12.4 billion to cover costs such as birth certificate distribution, vehicle maintenance and other logistical needs.
Mukhito added that development partners, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), are mobilising additional resources to support the campaign. He said his ministry will also engage Treasury to prioritise NRB funding in the 2026/2027 Financial Year.
“I am hopeful that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Government will continue supporting this initiative until every child below the age of 16 is registered in this country,” he said.
The minister further noted that the National Registration Act came into operation in 2015. Before then, Malawi operated under the 1904 Birth and Death Registration Act, which did not make birth registration mandatory.
As a result, many children born before 2015 were never registered and do not have birth certificates. He said the National Registration Act of 2010 changed this by making birth registration compulsory for every child born in Malawi, regardless of nationality, ethnicity or religion.