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First Conference of African Ministers Responsible for
Civil Registration
10-14 August 2010
UNCC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Genene BizunehAfrican Development Bank
Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Civil Registration and Vital
Statistics Systems in Africa
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Outline of PresentationOutline of Presentation
A. Some Facts
On Civil Registration and Vital
Statistics (CRVS) Systems in Africa
B. Problems/ Challenges
C. Opportunities
D. Way Forward
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Civil registration After nearly half a century, among the 53
countries only 2 to 3 claim to have complete civil registration systems
Even the 2 to 3 countries have not conducted conventional evaluation study in the recent past:- Uncertainty on the level of coverage and completeness
Nearly all the countries do not have:-
comprehensive guidelines for civil registration
causes of death registration as per the WHO standard
Some FactsSome Facts
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Vital Statistics
Except 2 to 3 countries, none of them produce current and usable vital statistics
In nearly all the countries:- No comprehensive technical and operational
vital statistics guidelines
No register-based infant and maternal mortality rates – key MDG indicators
No comprehensive causes of death classifications as per the ICD-10 standards
Some Facts … Cont’dSome Facts … Cont’d
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Traditional and inefficient public administration Inefficient justice system administration Inefficient social service administration Inadequate population and social statistics Decentralization programme without basic
statistics Democratization processes without adequate
electoral databases No proper instrument for safeguarding rights,
duties and privileges of persons and population groups guaranteed in national laws, regional treaties, protocols and international conventions and declarations
Implication of Inadequate CRVS Implication of Inadequate CRVS Systems in AfricaSystems in Africa
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Civil registration systems in the majority of African countries:-
Have no clear goals or targets Based on outdated laws and structural
arrangements No systematized operational directives and
procedures Not mainstreamed in national development
policies and programmesNot integrated in local public administrations
and basic social service structures No monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in
place;Do not meet users’ needs
Problems/Challenges Problems/Challenges
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Vital statistics systems in the majority of African countries:-
Have no systematized operational directives and procedures
Do not play their role in measuring and monitoring national developments in general and MDGs in particular
Suffer from lack of long-term vision and commitment, primarily among training and academic institutions
Fully occupied with indirect techniques Suffer from a lack of expertise in
registration method
Problems/Challenges … Cont’d Problems/Challenges … Cont’d
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Regional Interventions
No regional policy framework
No regional standards and guidelines
Lack of excellence and adequate
expertise
No proper organizational arrangement to
support countries
No sustainable financial and technical
support arrangements
Problems/Challenges … Cont’d Problems/Challenges … Cont’d
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International Interventions
Weak applicability of international standards
Low interest and commitment to engage in long-
term endeavors, specifically training and academic
institutions
Lack of clear mandate and accountability among
major intervening organizations
Lack of excellence and necessary expertise
No sustainable financial and technical support
arrangements
Problems/Challenges … Cont’d Problems/Challenges … Cont’d
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Decentralization and democratization processes progressing in Africa
Reforms in public administrations and provision of basic social services, specifically in health and education sectors
More values for measuring and monitoring development results, including MDGs
Engagements of regional organizations (ECA, AfDB and AUC) in improving CRVS
Opportunities Opportunities
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Availability of UN standards and guidelines Improved regional and international support and partnership
Booming IT applications
Availability of national and regional training institutions
Wider availability of media and communication channels
Opportunities … Cont’d Opportunities … Cont’d
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Way ForwardWay Forward
Increase demand for and use of CR certificates and vital statistics data
Greater commitment and accountability: Ministries responsible for civil registration Ministries responsible for national statistics Civil registration authorities NSOs
Strengthen regional commitment: Include CRVS in regular activities Allocate regular resources
Strengthen international support Towards harmonized interventions and
coordinated resource management
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Thank you