Parents yesterday praised the new Birth Registration App. Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama launched it at Suvavou House, Suva.

Police officer Asaeli Komaitai, father of twins Sereima Duidrodro and Vinana Waticagi, received their birth certificates through the Birth Registration App.

And he has urged all parents to make use of this new technology. He said it saved time and money.

He said for working parents they could make use of the app whenever they wanted to register their children.

Laisani Brown, mother of twins Abbie and Joy Mataitini, said she was happy to be one of the first mothers to receive the birth certificates through the Birth Registration App.

She said her husband was working and could not be at Suvavou House to witness the event.

Parents, she said, should make use of this App.

How to use the app

Mr Bainimarama outlined how this is done.

“They simply need to download the Birth Registration App, follow the simple instructions on screen and submit their registration electronically. Once the online registration is completed, new parents can schedule a set time to arrive at the Births Deaths and Marriages (BDM) Office, where they can then collect the birth certificate of their newborn child.”

For collection you just have to call the BDM office for the time. Knowing when you’re meant to arrive is much better than just showing up and hoping for the best and that will make the entire BDM office run a whole lot more efficiently.

As of yesterday Mr Bainimarama said they were doing away with some of the stress faced by new families, making the days and weeks following the birth of a child less of a hassle by bringing the birth registration process online for the very first time.

Government, he said, was saving new families valuable time –– time that could be spent doing just about everything else required to care for and nurture a new baby.

Gone are the days parents or guardians had to queue up, and spend their morning or afternoon waiting and filling out paperwork.

That process, he said, through this new app, could now begin as soon as they decide on the newborn child’s name, be it from the hospital bed or the comfort of their own home.

“They simply need to download the Birth Registration App, follow the simple instructions on screen, and submit their registration electronically.

Once the online registration is completed, new parents can schedule a set time to arrive at the BDM Office, where they can then collect the birth certificate of their newborn child.

“For any birth that is registered electronically through this app, the normal fee for a copy of the first birth certificate will be waived.

For the time being, this new App will only be available to register births at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital.”

Edited by Caroline Ratucadra

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