[Photo: FILE]

Teenage and single mothers are facing delays registering the birth of their child due to the stigma surrounding their motherhood and cultural expectations related to family lineage.

This has been highlighted in a multi-staged project, carried out by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the Fiji Ministry of Justice, through the Births, Deaths and Marriages Office, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs.

The project found that in Tailevu and other districts, a growing number of children born outside of marriage are not being recorded in the Vola ni Kawa Bula.

This is often due to uncertainty among mothers about their child’s right to registration, especially in communities where family acknowledgement and lineage are central to cultural identity.

It has also been found that such social pressures and cultural sensitivities discourage some parents, particularly single mothers, from initiating the registration process.

However, the project found that awareness and outreach programs increased birth registration, showing that accessibility and proximity are key drivers of participation.

It also found that coordinating outreach with local events, such as health clinics and community gatherings, greatly improved turnout and public awareness, as these occasions facilitated dispersed populations being present in central locations.

Communities also strongly value integrated outreach that offers other civil registration services, such as death registration and marriage certificate issuance, alongside birth registration.

This holistic approach allows families to complete multiple administrative tasks at once, increases efficiency, and enhances trust in government services.

The Project has been supported by Vital Strategies under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative Global Grants Programme.

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