Africa, Asia and Eastern Mediterranean 2012 and 2013

INFORMATION SHEET ON THE AFRICA PROGRAMME ON
ACCELERATED IMPROVEMENT OF CIVIL REGISTRATION AND VITAL
STATISTICS (APAI-CRVS)
FOR UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON INFORMATION AND
ACCOUNTABILITY (COIA) COUNTRIES IN AFRICA
PURPOSE: TO INFORM COIA COUNTRIES IN AFRICA ON THE APAI-CRVS
PROGRAM AND PRIORITIES FOR COUNTRY CRVS STRENGTHENING.
What is Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS)?
CRVS systems comprise the total process of: i
• Collecting information on the occurrence and characteristics of vital events pertaining to
the population (primarily birth, death, marriage and divorce, but also adoption,
legitimation, recognition of parenthood, annulment of marriage and legal separation);
and
• Generating vital statistics through the compilation, analysis, evaluation, presentation
and dissemination of data.
Proper functioning of the CRVS system requires the engagement of many stakeholders. An
example of a country's CRVS operational model is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Structure of CRVS operations and key stakeholders ii
The Africa Program on Accelerated Improvement of CRVS (APAI-CRVS)
APAI-CRVS is a continental-wide initiative to support countries in strengthening their CRVS
systems. The Programme was commissioned by African ministers responsible for civil
registration during their first conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in August 2010. The
ministers in their meeting declared the necessary political commitment for CRVS systems
improvement and requested the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Union
Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), to
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