Africa, Asia and Eastern Mediterranean 2012 and 2013

14. In 43 per cent of countries, there is an agreed schedule for reporting to the central office, with
reporting deadlines taken seriously and closely monitored – it is rarely necessary to send out reminders. In the
remaining 20 countries, the schedule is not strictly adhered to and there is little effort by the central office to
encourage more timely and regular reporting.
Practices affecting the quality of cause of death data; ICD compliance, practices and training
15. 60 per cent of countries state that the cause of death must be indicated on the death certificate
according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), and can only be certified by a medical doctor.
Whilst, 10 countries, state that cause of death must be indicated, but only under broad categories, and may be
certified by non-medical officials.
16. Only in 23 per cent of countries, are all medical students are introduced to the ICD during their
studies, and are taught how to certify cause of death and correctly complete the medical death certificate.
Data quality and plausibility checks
17. In 46 per cent of countries, checks on overall levels of fertility and mortality derived from the vital
statistics data are made routinely by calculating rates and comparing these over time; rates are also compared
to data derived from other sources, such as censuses and surveys. However, in 9 countries, no specific checks
are routinely carried out for data quality and plausibility of birth and death statistics.
18. In addition to checking the stability of patterns in cause of death over time, the proportion of illdefined
and unknown deaths is routinely monitored, and the age and sex patterns for major causes of death
are checked for plausibility in 34 per cent of countries. However, 10 countries do not carry out consistency
and plausibility checks routinely on data for cause of death.
Data access, dissemination and use
19. 69 per cent of the 35 countries publish annual data on births and 71 per cent publish annual data on
deaths by all three disaggregations (sex, age and geographical or administrative region). 5 countries are not
able to publish annual statistics on birth, and 7 countries do not publish annual statistics on death.
20. The delay between the reference year and the time when detailed national statistics on cause of
death, classified by sex and age, are made available to the public is less than two years for 71 per cent of
countries. In 2 countries, it was reported that the delay is five years or more.
21. Data on births, deaths, and causes of death are utilized in 66 per cent of countries for socioeconomic
planning and for monitoring the health status of the population, including the use of data on cause of death
for public health purposes. In 2 countries, data from the civil registration and vital statistics systems are not
routinely used for policy and programme purposes.
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