Ghana’s National Identification Authority has registered 32,000 children aged 6 to 14 in the Volta and Oti regions since launching a national drive on May 5.
The National Identification Authority (NIA), working alongside the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), is targeting more than 63,000 children across both regions before moving to the five northern regions as part of a phased campaign to enrol approximately 3.1 million Ghanaian children onto the National Identity Register.
Executive Secretary of the NIA, Wisdom Kwaku Deku, disclosed the figures at a press briefing in Ho on Wednesday, May 14, telling reporters the operation had encountered no significant disruption.
“A child who is registered here already has these numbers,” Deku said, referring to the Ghana Card’s automatic assignment of a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) number, a Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) number, and a Tax Identification Number (TIN) through a single registration.
That consolidation is among the most consequential features of the exercise. A Legislative Instrument (LI) already makes the Ghana Card mandatory for any transaction requiring identification. A child registered today therefore enters adulthood with an integrated identity, healthcare, and social security profile, removing the need to register separately for each system later.
Deku urged parents whose children had reached age 6 to bring them forward without delay. Registration teams move from school to school across both public and private institutions each day. Children who are not enrolled in school can report to designated centres in their communities. Each regional phase is scheduled to run for at least 21 days before advancing.
The NIA has so far issued close to 20 million Ghana Cards to persons aged 15 and above, surpassing its initial target of 19 million for that cohort. The current exercise brings the national register down to school-age children, with a separate phase for children aged zero to five planned once the 6 to 14 age group registration concludes.
