Discriminant analysis of birth registration in Ghana

Abstract

The objective of this study is to present empirical evidence obtained through household survey in order to understand which factors are associated with children who obtain a birth certificate, and thus realize their right to a name and legal identity. Discriminate analysis was used to determine the factors that explain the differences between households who register their children and those who do not. 13 independent variables were analyzed against two levels of the dependent variable using responses from 3465 households sampled over Ghana. The investigation revealed that the variables; child in household has a vaccination card, level of education attained by household head, location of household, whether household is located in rural or urban community, level of education of mother in household, household’s access to radio and TV imparted on a household’s decision to register a child’s birth or not. The variable, wealth index quintile of household in which a child lives stood out as the most powerful factor that determined whether the child would be registered or not. The evidence from this study indicates that children who have not been registered tend to be in households who are poor and live in rural areas. Such children are likely to have been born by mothers who have low levels of formal education and are less likely to have adequate access to the media.