The Birth and Death Registry says it has has rolled out a community population register to decentralise birth and death registration. Mrs. Henrietta Lamptey, Registrar of the Births and Deaths Registry, said the rollout was among key initiatives introduced by the Registry to encourage the registration of births and deaths across the country. She was speaking at an engagement workshop on public awareness creation and sensitisation to promote timely registration of births and deaths in Accra. The workshop is expected to raise awareness on the importance of timely birth and death registration and sensitize the media on birth and death registration procedures and requirements. Journalists drawn from various media outlets were taken through the procedures, requirements, challenges, and several initiatives of the death and birth registry. Mrs. Lamptey said the community population registry was currently piloted in 25 communities to ensure that every birth and death in the communities was captured. She said st akeholders in the communities, including the chiefs, opinion leaders, and district assemblies, were supporting the initiative. Mrs. Lamptey said the registry had also rolled out other initiatives, including the mobile mass registration to draw birth and death records to the 'doorstep' of the people. 'The mobile mass registration allows us to get closer to the communities. We reach out to the community through mobile mass registration, making announcements and encouraging everyone who has not yet registered to do so. The platform was also designed for the public to ensure that every child in Ghana aged one year and under is registered and recorded,' she said. She urged the Media to help the registry propagate some of its initiatives to the citizens. The Registrar stressed that the Media played a major role in creating awareness about the registry and appealed to them to encourage birth and death registry. Source : Ghana News Agency