Prior to 2020, when the World Bank started supporting the Ministry of Health, the completeness of paper-based birth registrations was only about 59 percent in The Gambia. That meant that a large proportion of the population did not possess a birth certificate. This important identity document is often required to apply for identification (ID) cards, passports, and driver’s licenses, as well as to open bank accounts, take school or certification exams, and apply for a job. The lack of this document could hinder people from the full exercise of their rights, as well as their participation in various activities in society. Even when births had been registered, if people lost their birth certificates, they were not able to obtain a replacement or retrieve their records... En savoir plus