Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced plans to replace physical birth notifications with electronic notifications as the government moves to digitise birth registration services.
Speaking during a rally in Elgeyo Marakwet on Tuesday, October 13, Murkomen revealed that Nandi, Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet counties will be the first to pilot the new system during the Mashujaa Day celebrations.
The government intends to expand the programme to other parts of the country following the initial rollout.
According to Murkomen, the digital system will simplify the process of obtaining birth certificates by eliminating the need for parents to travel long distances to hospitals to collect birth notifications and subsequently visit Huduma Centres to acquire the certificates.
"Parents used to travel long distances to get birth certificates. Now during Mashujaa Day, we have pilot projects here in Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet and Nandi, and will go across the country very soon to ensure that birth notifications are given online immediately after birth, no need to go and look for it later," Murkomen stated.
The proposed changes will replace the traditional paper-based birth notification with an electronic version known as an e-notification, allowing information about newborns to be transmitted digitally to civil registration authorities.
The initiative is expected to reduce paperwork, ease access to essential registration documents and minimise the challenges parents face when handling physical notifications.
In the past, some parents have reported difficulties obtaining birth certificates after losing their original birth notifications. The challenges have prompted inquiries about alternative ways of accessing the documents without presenting the missing notifications.
The digital system is expected to address some of these concerns by reducing dependence on physical paperwork and enabling health facilities to share birth information electronically with the relevant government agencies.
Government Targets SHA-Contracted Hospitals
The announcement follows an earlier disclosure by Immigration Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang that the government planned to introduce the digital birth notification system in hospitals contracted by the Social Health Authority (SHA) within three months.
Kipsang explained that the Interior Ministry was working with the Ministry of Health to integrate civil registration services with hospital management systems, enabling birth information to be captured and transmitted more efficiently.
"We already finalised our engagement with the Ministry of Health, and we shall be rolling it out across all our hospitals that benefit from the SHA. So everybody who benefits from SHA will be benefiting from the process of E-notification," Kipsang said.
"Within the next three months, we shall be able to roll out this system across all our hospitals that benefit from SHA," he added.
The integration is intended to ensure that births recorded at participating health facilities can be processed through the digital registration system, reducing the need for parents to make separate trips to obtain the initial notification.
The government has been expanding its use of digital platforms to improve access to public services and reduce the administrative burden associated with obtaining official documents.
The latest announcement also builds on an earlier initiative that enabled Kenyans to apply for and download birth certificates online.
If fully implemented nationwide, the electronic notification system could further streamline birth registration by connecting hospitals directly with civil registration authorities and reducing the number of physical documents parents need to handle.
However, the rollout will begin with the three selected counties before the government extends the system to other parts of the country.
