Gov’t Making it Mandatory for Fathers’ Names to Appear on Birth Certificates

The Government is preparing legislation, which will make it mandatory for fathers’ names to be placed on their children’s birth certificates.

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, who made the disclosure, said the move is aimed at promoting responsible parenting.

“There are too many (birth certificates) that have “unidentified” where the father’s name is supposed to be and that creates a lopsided perception of the institution of the family,” he said.

Dr. Tufton was addressing the official launch of the ‘Good Health Begins at Home’ initiative developed by the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA), at the entity’s office in Mandeville, Manchester on Friday (May 13).

‘Good Health Begins at Home’ seeks to promote a healthy and stable family life for the welfare of the society. The initiative was conceptualised by Regional Technical Director at SRHA, Dr. Michael Coombs, and involves partnership with several State agencies and civil society groups.

Minister Tufton, in endorsing the plan, said any attempt at promoting and restoring family values must “have an intervention programme to deal with our males.”

Urging support for the initiative, he said partnership is needed “where we help our males from early to take responsibility for your actions.”

The Minister underscored that “fatherhood must not be seen as getting a woman pregnant, while the man is totally insensitive to the years of responsibility that is required to provide the level of guidance, to create a normal and legitimate society”.