1. 1 First Conference of African Ministers Responsible for Civil Registration 10-14 August 2010 UNCC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Genene Bizuneh African Development Bank Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems in Africa

2. 2 Outline of Presentation A.Some Facts On Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Systems in Africa B.Problems/ Challenges C.Opportunities D.Way Forward

3. 3 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 Facts

4. 4 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’d

5. 5  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 Systems in Africa

6. 6 Civil registration systems in the majority of African countries:-  Have no clear goals or targets  Based on outdated laws and structural arrangements  No systematized operational directives and procedures  Not mainstreamed in national development policies and programmes  Not integrated in local public administrations and basic social service structures  No monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in place;  Do not meet users’ needs Problems/Challenges

7. 7 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

8. 8 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

9. 9 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

10. 10  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

11. 11  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

12. 12 Way 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

13. 13 Thank you