Africa, Asia and Eastern Mediterranean 2012 and 2013

which 20 are in Asia and the Pacific. 11 The Health Metrics Network (HMN) – a global partnership of countries,
development agencies and the private sector 12 to strengthen health information systems – is the global lead
partner for implementing this recommendation.
14. At the Fourth High-level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in 2011, the Partnership in
Statistics for Development in the 21 st Century (PARIS 21) presented the Busan Action Plan
for Statistics that recognized that, “Reliable and accessible statistics provide the evidence
needed to improve decision making, document results, and heighten public accountability.”
13 The first of five action points called on countries to, “…address weaknesses in vital
registration systems and data critical for monitoring program performance – including
administrative data, sex disaggregated data, and geospatial information.” 14 PARIS 21 is,
with the support of HMN, drafting implementation arrangements, which will include actions
to improve CRVS systems.
15. A regional initiative to improve CRVS systems is already well underway in Africa. The UN Economic
Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) sponsored a series of ministerial
meetings and expert working groups on CRVS in 2010 and 2011, developing a regional Medium Term Plan
(MTP) for 2010-2015 to support reforms and improve CRVS systems in Africa. 15 The MTP guides countries and
regional and international organizations in managing interventions and monitoring the progress made in
strengthening CRVS systems in Africa. Most recently, in September 2012, the Second Conference of African
Ministers Responsible for Civil Registration urged all ECA member States to undertake an in-depth assessment
of their CRVS systems and to develop national action plans for improvement. 16
16. The Americas is also undertaking a comparable regional initiative. The Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO) has been implementing a Regional Plan of Action for Strengthening Vital and Health
Statistics 17 since 2008 as part of broader efforts to strengthen health information systems in that region.
17. In the much of the Pacific sub-region of Asia and the Pacific, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community
(SPC) has developed the Ten Year Pacific Statistics Strategy 2011-2020. Improving CRVS is one of four priority
areas of Phase I of this strategy. Subsequently, the Pacific Vital Statistics Action Plan 2011-2014 was developed
11 Including: Afghanistan; Azerbaijan; Bangladesh; Cambodia; China; Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; India; Indonesia;
Kyrgyzstan; Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Myanmar; Nepal; Pakistan; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Solomon Islands;
Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan; and Viet Nam.
12 A complete list of partners is available at .
13 PARIS 21, 2011, Statistics for Transparency, Accountability, and Results: A Busan Action Plan for Statistics, available at
.
14 Ibid.
15 ECA, 2011, Reforming and Improving Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems in Africa, available at
.
16 ECA, 2012, Second Conference of African Ministers Responsible for Civil Registration Ministerial Statement, available at
.
17 PAHO, 2008, Regional Plan of Action for Strengthening Vital and Health Statistics, available at
.
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