Residents urged to obtain birth certificates

The Principal Registrar of the Bureau of Vital Statistics, at the Ministry of Health, Prince K. Momolu, urges Liberians, including people born in Liberia to obtain birth certificates.

Birth certificate is legitimately issued to people who are born in Liberia whether they are citizens or aliens, he says. Speaking recently in an interview with the Liberia News Agency, he disclosed that people applying for birth certificates are always in a rush, creating a major challenge for the bureau.

He cautions applicants not to wait for occasions such as scholarship, job, among others, before filing for birth certificates. Meanwhile, Momolu discloses that some unscrupulous individuals were recently caught forging birth certificates at the Bureau and forwarded for investigation.

He also cautions the public against dealing with individuals who are not in the employ of the Bureau of Vital Statistics, detailing that all legitimate employees wear jackets and carry identification cards. He advises clients applicants must “insist to know whom they are dealing with” in obtaining birth certificates.

According to him, the Bureau is working in close collaboration with the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) to detect unqualified persons applying for birth certificates in Liberia.

The Bureau of Vital Statistics, a department within the Ministry of Health, has the mandate to issue birth and death certificates, collect, compile and disseminate health information (data), supervise health research, and monitor health programs in Liberia, according to Momolu. Editing by Jonathan Browne