Gabon’s ‘invisible’ children: No birth certificate means no school

Children whose births were never officially declared are known as « ghosts » or « invisible » children. It’s an administrative irregularity with far-reaching consequences: millions of African children are excluded from the education system simply for not having a birth certificate. In Gabon, the government estimates that 7,400 children were missing the precious document in 2018, often because of their parents’ ignorance of the administrative procedure after the birth of their child. Our team reports.