Doctoral Dissertation Research: Counting children, making children count: birth registration, health and human rights in Tanzania

获得姓名和出生登记的法律的权利是现代人权法的一项核心原则。出生登记往往被认为是一项“入门权利”。“这是获得政治、经济和社会权利的必要先决条件，包括获得医疗保健和教育，以及免受童工、贩运和未成年婚姻的保护。然而，在发展中国家出生的大多数儿童从未合法登记。目前的项目探讨导致出生登记率低的因素以及在这些地点进行出生登记的文化、社会和历史意义。这项研究涉及家庭调查、半结构化访谈、出生登记活动的参与观察以及坦桑尼亚和英格兰的档案研究。公共卫生和人权活动家提出，提高出生登记率是改善发展中国家健康和发展成果的关键手段之一。目前的研究结果可以使人们深入了解许多发展中国家出生登记率持续偏低的问题。

The legal right to a name and a registered birth is a central principle of modern human rights law. Birth registration is often identified as a "gateway right." It is a necessary precursor for accessing political, economic, and social rights, including access to health care and education as well as protection from child labor, trafficking, and under-age marriage. However, the majority of children born in the developing world are never legally registered. The current project explores the factors that contribute to the low rates of birth registration as well as the cultural, social, and historical significance attributed to registering births in such locations. The research involves household surveys, semi-structured interviews, participant observation of birth registration activities, and archival research in Tanzania and England.Public health and human rights campaigners have proposed that improving birth registration rates is one key means to improving health and development outcomes across the developing world. The results of the current research could offer insights into the continued presence of low birth registration rates in many developing countries.