Poor Disabled Persons to Benefit from Operation Birthright

More than 30,000 disabled persons living below the poverty line are expected to benefit from Operation Birthright. Under the initiative, being implemented through the National Identification System (NIDS), in partnership with the Registrar General’s Department (RGD), these individuals who do not have a copy of their birth certificate will be provided with a copy free of cost.

This was disclosed by Executive Director of the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD), Dr. Christine Hendricks, today (October 4), during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank.

She said the Council has been working with NIDS since 2017, to ensure that as it rolls out the national identification system, persons with disabilities will not be left behind. “As part of that process, in addition to the identification system, and the identification cards that would be provided, there were quite a number of persons with disabilities who do not have a birth certificate, so the Council reached out to the team at NIDS to help facilitate persons with disabilities to get birth certificates,” Dr. Hendricks explained.

“Even to get an ID you will need a birth certificate, and many of our clients do not have that, and so do not have a Tax Registration Number (TRN) either,” she added. Dr. Hendricks pointed out that many persons, although there were in need, were not able to receive government benefits in the past and even in the recent past, for example COVID-19 grants.

The eligibility criteria under Operation Birthright are an applicant must be a Jamaican eligible under Jamaican laws to be entered into the civil status register, meaning he or she must be a born Jamaican; must be one year and older; and must be recommended by a person listed on the application form.

The applicant must have a monthly income of $37,000 or less – below the poverty line basically – which means he or she cannot afford or can hardly afford to pay for a birth certificate; and the applicant should not be receiving other sources of concurrent subsidy for similar services.

Individuals or their caregivers can access and download the application form at www.nidsfact.com\operation-birthright. The form, when completed, may be submitted to any RGD office across the island for processing. The forms are also available at the RGD offices.

Once the form is duly completed, the RGD will perform the necessary searches and determine the service(s) required to process the birth certificate once the applicant is eligible. The RGD will guide the applicant to complete any additional form(s) that the

RGD needs to deliver the service, under the law. Dr. Hendricks is appealing to Jamaicans who know of persons who meet the criteria to assist them to get their birth certificate, especially those considered poor and with disabilities.

“It is a quick identifier, it facilitates the education of persons, and it enables them to do business on their own, so it is very important that they get this important document,” she added.

On February 14, 2022, the Disability Act came into effect. The Council is now operating as a Body Corporate and is in the process of transitioning from a Department under the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) to a Statutory Body.