The African Union and UNICEF say drastic measures are needed to achieve the SDG goal of universal birth registration.

They say overwhelming number of undocumented adults represents a challenge for registration of newborns.

The agencies stress that allowing parents who have not been registered to obtain their birth certificate without penalties is therefore critical.

According to them, worrying projections show that the number of unregistered people on the continent will exceed 100 million by 2030 if no immediate and radical measures are taken.

Cecilie Modvar is a birth registration expert with UNICEF.

She has been speaking to WADR.