Africa, Asia and Eastern Mediterranean 2012 and 2013

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H. Increased technical capacity of countries in the region to effectively use vital statistics. 4. The Regional Strategic Plan supports national action to improving CRVS systems by bringing countries and development partners together to share knowledge, experience and resources. It aims to raise awareness of the benefits and feasibility of improving CRVS systems, particularly for developing countries, and the regional support that is available from many development partners that cover a wide range of issues and perspectives. 5. Reflecting the multi-sectoral nature of CRVS systems, the Regional Strategic Plan brings together relevant government stakeholders, including civil registration offices, national statistics offices (NSOs), and ministries of health, as well as civil society. Improved coordination and collaboration within countries, and amongst development partners, is both the means and an expected outcome of the Regional Strategic Plan. 6. The Regional Strategic Plan recognizes that improving the quality, coverage and efficiency of CRVS systems is increasingly feasible due to the availability of advanced technologies, resource kits, tools and methods, and a better understanding of how they can be applied. 3 For example information and communication technologies (ICT), such as mobile technology, have the potential to facilitate lower cost, speedier and higher quality collection, transmission, storage and dissemination of data, as well as serving to overcome the physical and logistical challenges of civil registration in remote, isolated, small island and mountainous areas. THE ROLE OF CIVIL REGISTRATION AND VITAL STATISTICS SYSTEMS 7. Civil registration consists of the compulsory, permanent, continuous and universal recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events. 4 For individuals, civil registration systems are a unique and critical service. Through the official recording of births, deaths, marriages, divorces and adoption, individuals have the documentary evidence on which to base claims of identity and family relationships, legal status, and ensuing rights, and secure access to services such as health, education, social welfare and protection. Legal proof of identity brings individuals into the modern economy by enabling them to seek employment, exercise electoral rights, claim inheritance, transmit property, open bank accounts, access credits, obtain passports and get driving licenses. 8. Universal civil registration is crucial because it helps safeguard human rights. Every individual has the right to a documentary evidence of identity from birth, and for that proof of identity to be securely registered and to publicly recognize relationships with family and significant others. In March 2012, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council reaffirmed, "…the human right of everyone to be recognized everywhere as a person before the law…” 5 Moreover, by providing legal and social identity to individuals, civil registration enables individuals to access benefits, as internationally agreed on, inter alia, in the United Nations Millennium 3 HISHub, 2012, Strengthening practice and systems in civil registration and vital statistics: A Resource Kit, University of Queensland: Health Information Systems Knowledge Hub Working Paper Series, No. 19, available at < http://www.uq.edu.au/hishub/docs/WP_19.pdf >. 4 A system of civil registration includes all institutional, legal and technical settings needed to perform the civil registration functions in a technically sound, coordinated and standardized manner throughout the country, taking into account cultural and social circumstances particular to the country. Source: UNSD, 1973, Handbook on Training in Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems, UN publication, Sales No. 02.XVII.10, available at . 5 See UN Human Rights Council resolution 19/9, available at . 24
Declaration 6 and the Declaration on the Right to Development 7 . In this regard, civil registration is especially important for individuals in poverty, migrants, ethnic minorities and other marginalized groups. 9. Civil registration systems generate administrative data that can be compiled to produce vital statistics that serve the needs of multiple sectors. A well-functioning civil registration system that records vital events such as births, deaths, marriages, divorces and adoptions is the most effective and efficient data source of vital statistics. 8 Unlike other sources of vital statistics, such as censuses or household surveys, CRVS systems generates statistics on population dynamics and health indicators on a continuous basis for the country as a whole and at a local level for its administrative sub-divisions. 10. Vital statistics generated from civil registration significantly contribute to the formulation of effective and efficient evidence-based policy across multiple sectors. Reliable information on births and deaths permit the calculation and production of timely and accurate population estimates and other demographic and health statistics, which are some of the most basic requirements for effective policy-making, efficient resource allocation, and accurate evaluation and monitoring. 11. Well-functioning CRVS systems enhance the credibility of national and local administrators and their capacity to deliver services by helping them to identify what services are needed and by whom. When of high quality, vital statistics allow governments and donors to consider the direction of resources to the areas of most need within a country, and allow citizens, governments and donors to evaluate the use of scarce resources. THE IMPETUS FOR REGIONAL ACTION Aligning with a growing global movement 12. In 2000, the World’s leaders adopted the Millennium Declaration 9 , which emphasized, the link between human rights, good governance and development. The global commitment to the Millennium Declaration, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were subsequently established, has led to increased recognition of the critical need for reliable, continuous and comparable vital statistics to monitor progress, and created momentum to improve these data. As the World gets closer to 2015, attention is mounting towards understanding and addressing the challenges posed by the post-MDG development agenda, especially related to human rights, equity, sustainable development and access to basic services. With this attention, it is becoming even more apparent that the long neglect of CRVS systems in some countries has had a detrimental impact on their ability to develop and monitor targeted development policies. 13. Launched in 2010, the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health (COIA) was convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) at the request of the UN Secretary- General. The COIA’s 2011 report recommended that all countries, as a priority, increase their efforts to strengthen their CRVS systems. 10 The COIA is focusing its support on 74 high-priority countries globally, of 6 See UN General Assembly resolution 55/2, available at . 7 See UN General Assembly resolution 41/128, annex, available at . 8 UNSD, 2001, Principles and Recommendations for a Vital Statistics System, Revision 2 , UN p ublication, . 9 Chapter V, see footnote 5. Sales No. 01.XVI.10, available at 10 WHO, 2011, Keeping promises, measuring results: Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health, available at . 25
Page 1 and 2: REGIONAL NETWORK WORK PLANS Africa,
Page 3 and 4: Africa Eastern AFRO Chad Mediterran
Page 5 and 6: 3. Participation in East African In
Page 7 and 8: 5. World Health Organization (WPRO,
Page 9 and 10: 1. Memorandums of understanding dis
Page 11 and 12: ATTACHMENT ONE Improving Informatio
Page 13 and 14: advocacy, policymaking and oversigh
Page 15 and 16: ATTACHMENT TWO SECOND CONFERENCE OF
Page 17 and 18: the Republic of South Africa; 12. R
Page 19 and 20: We express our deepest appreciation
Page 21 and 22: provide leadership and guidance to
Page 23: INTRODUC TION “To make people cou
Page 27 and 28: y eleven development partners 18 th
Page 29 and 30: Social Commission for Asia and the
Page 31 and 32: g. Harmonization and alignment: In
Page 33 and 34: underinvestment, sometimes as a res
Page 35 and 36: island and mountainous areas. In ad
Page 37 and 38: c. Make available in the public dom
Page 39 and 40: egional and international partners
Page 41 and 42: ANNE X 1: PROPOSED MONITORI NG FRAM
Page 43 and 44: Outcome H Increased technical capac
Page 45 and 46: 6-9 Quality of Cause of Death Data;
Page 47 and 48: ANNEX 3: DEVELOPM ENT PARTNERS [AWA
Page 49 and 50: Plan International Regional Coordin
Page 51 and 52: United Nations Population Fund (UNF
Page 53 and 54: World Health Organization (WHO) WHO
Page 55 and 56: AFRO Central African Republic 49 AF
Page 57 and 58: AFRO Swaziland 30 EURO Tajikistan 8

Africa, Asia and Eastern Mediterranean 2012 and 2013

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