1. Why CRVS matters before, during and after a disaster Jeff Montgomery, New Zealand Registrar-General

2. What is CRVS?
Continuous, permanent, compulsory and universal recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events pertaining to the population
Continuous – The civil registration system continuously adds new records and makes amendments to existing records as events occur
Permanent – Records are preserved for future uses
Compulsory – It is mandated by the Civil Registration Law
Universal – It should cover the entire country/territory. If all types of vital events cannot be recorded, then priority should be given to births and deaths
Confidential – used only for the purposes prescribed by law and/or in aggregated form
Implemented according to international standards such as the UN Principles and Recommendations and the WHO International Classification of Diseases.(ICD-10)
Major characteristics recorded:
Fact of birth or death
Cause of death
Related socio-demographic information on the birth or death
Births and deaths and causes of death are most important for individuals and public health policy. Events like adoptions, name or gender changes, marriages & divorces are also captured
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2014). Principles and Recommendations for a Vital Statistics System, rev. 3. New York, USA.

3. CRVS is System

4. CRVS operates at Two Levels
1. Civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems underpin good governance and planning at a national level.
ensuring reliable and up-to-date data on population size, dynamics, and health,
plan service needs and distribution (including health, education, infrastructure services, etc), monitor and respond to key health issues, track development progress
ensuring that deceased persons are removed from electoral rolls and identifying potential voters coming of age, providing a secure identity to assist government functions such as immigration and policing, and the planning and provision of social welfare and pensions.
provides an element of accountability for births and deaths, and therefore assist in supporting a greater level of security at a societal level.

5. CRVS operates at Two Levels
At an individual level, civil registration facilitates legal rights to participate and be counted in society.
A legal identity
Access to education and health services
Citizenship status
Ability to vote
Ability to open a bank or mobile phone account
Access to a passport and international travel
Relationship status and property rights
Inheritance or land rights

6. Three CRVS components
Notifications and Registration – vital events are recorded and counted
Certification – individuals receive legal certificates
Vital statistics – statistics are compiled and disseminated
CRVS systems will not function well, and will fail
if one of these systems is not functional.

7. Civil registration process
Declaration of birth
by informant
Registration of birth
by civil registrar
Issuance of birth
certificate by
civil registrar
Notification of birth
(by hospital, midwife,
village chief)
Notification (additional
requirements in some countries)
Supplementary evidentiary documentation (e.g. hospital
attestation of birth) either given to informant to present to registrar or
to civil registrar directly.

8. Employment
CRVS and ID systems
National ID systems will fail if there is inadequate Civil Registration
Retrospective registration is good – but a trap
Civil Register
Migration
Population Register
Education
Vital Statistics
Employment

9. CRVS in Solomon's and the Pacific
Varying levels of development – some are well advanced while other countries are struggling
Key issues are:
Coverage – dispersed or remote population
Completeness – incentives to register and capacity of civil registration office
Connectedness – between Civil Registry, Statistics and Health
Conversion – from paper to secure and robust digital records
Lots of players – Brisbane Accord, UNESCAP, UNICEF, WHO, SPC, Bloomberg

10. Civil Registration in the Solomon's
2013 Assessment of the CRVS system revealed the system performs poorly compared to other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Only 28% of births and 2% deaths are registered
Mortality and cause of death (COD) data are limited and come largely from census estimates or international modelling.
Owing to the lack of reliable data, it is very difficult for public health policy makers to develop strategies that address the health needs of their population.
Recent improvements in the CRVS system of the Solomon Islands, further progress is urgently needed.

11. A new, enthusiastic Registrar has been appointed
Legislation in place for registration of births and deaths
Centralised system but parallel systems in place – Local magistrates complete legal declaration of births and deaths and there is also formal registration
MHMS collects information on births and deaths through monthly reporting system
Death certificates are only provided for deaths at hospitals and not all deaths in hospitals are certified

12. National CRVS Improvement Plan Solomon Islands 2015 - 2019
An amazing plan for the Solomon's
National CRVS Improvement Plan Solomon Islands
“To improve the lives of Solomon Islanders through a functional, responsive, accessible and sustainable CRVS system that supports individuals’ identity and rights and good public policy through complete, accurate and timely registration.”
Prepared by the National CRVS Committee with assistance from the Brisbane Accord Group. Stakeholders include: Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Solomon Islands Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Finance, MDDP, IT, Ministry of Justice and Law Reform Commission, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), World Health Organization, UNICEF and UNFPA

13. The fully costed plan addresses:
Legislation
Political Commitment and Community Advocacy
Unclear Roles and Responsibilities
Importance of CRVS not known
Reducing Duplication and addressing Disincentives for Registration
Improving Access to Registration
Improving Coverage through better links
Improvement to COD particularly within health settings
Data not routinely available for policy and planning
Limited demand for data and improve data sharing

14. CRVS and Disasters Impact on people Impact on CRVS system
Impact on ability to plan and respond

15. Implications for CRVS customers
Ongoing nature of CRVS – the show must go on!
Increased need for services – extra events to register, replacement of vital documents for families, and increased risk of exploitation

16. Implications for CRVS systems
Resilient CRVS infrastructure.
Resilient CRVS data bases.
Back up of national data (paper or digital) at central level and in various locations.
As timely as possible backup schedules – daily for a busy registry

17. Implications for Disaster Response
An effective CRVS system as essential in disaster planning and response
“Never let the opportunity of a crisis pass you by …”

18. So what? CRVS can be a powerful tool for individuals and governments
CRVS is an important factor to consider in disasters
To help impacted people
To get the CRVS system operating well
To contribute to the planning and response
The Solomon Islands have a great CRVS plan – help achieve it!