By Friday Simbaya, Iringa
The Government through the Registration Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA) in collaboration with the UNICEF and the Bloomberg Data for Health Institute and other development partners has begun to implement the program of registering deaths in Iringa region on experiment basis.
Acting Chief Executive Officer of RITA, Emmy Hudson said yesterday during a sensitization meeting for regional and district officials about the death registration program trials.
She said that for the second time, Iringa region has been given an opportunity to implement a death registration test plan after doing well in the program for the development of birth registration system for children under the age of five.
Hudson said that the Iringa region after doing well in the program for the birth registration of children under the age of five, which began to be implemented in 2016, has been given a chance to implement deaths registration by issuing death certificates the deceased families.
"We've succeeded in birth registration, now we have to finish this pair (death). We are launching death registration tests to resolve the death registration challenges here in Iringa region where the results will be used to improve the system before it can be broadcast across the country, "said Hudson.
The sensitization meeting also incorporated different stakeholders including religious leaders and journalists as an integral part of society.
She explained that the goal of involving various religious leaders is that deaths occur when people run to worshipping homes to pray for their beloved ones.
She said religious leaders would help them use their opportunities in educating the people about the importance of registering death cases.
Unlike the birth registration, according to the records, more than 85 percent of the deaths are reported to occur at home, many are buried without access to hospitals but all bring them to the religious leaders in the burial.
Hudson added that media as part of the community have a great opportunity to convey relevant messages to the community about the registration of deaths, so they are asked for cooperation in the same death registration system.
Amina Masenza is the Iringa Regional Commissioner, who was an official guest at the sensitization meeting which was organized by RITA, congratulated RITA in the ongoing reforms in various parts of the country.
She said that many institutions have much to learn in particular in terms of devolution of powers to the community of the people by taking action of death registration.
She said that death is a sad incident because it separates us from those we love to mean we will never be able to have them again in life, hence, it is important to register the incident to get a death certificate that is used as a legitimate death. (Death certificate is a prima facie evidence of fact of death).
Masenza said that the threat of death in the population goes further and causes many to not report death cases and make the country average of 17.5% of registered deaths.
She said that citizens should see the relationship between registering the death of their beloved and the development of the country so that the government could plan its development plans.
"I know there are countries where they have stopped making census as we do every ten years and spend a lot of money because these countries have set up a system where every born child is registered and everyone who dies is registered so that she has the statistics of her people every day," she elaborated.
In addition, Masenza gave the RITA an opportunity to reassure regional leaders the importance of writing wills (wosia) although it is not a good idea but for the benefit of the family who will have it as soon as they leave the world.
However, we demanded that regional and district authorities, religious leaders, media, and development stakeholders and the public generally to participate in implementing deaths.
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