Afghanistan | Get Every One in the Picture

CIVIL REGISTRATION AND VITAL STATISTICS

IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

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Goal 1
Goal 2
Goal 3
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Afghanistan

The modern CRVS system in Afghanistan was established in 1977 under the Ministry of Interior, and a special section of the Central Statistics Office was created in 1978 for analyzing and evaluating CRVS data. In 2019, the civil registration authority became part of the National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) which maintains four main functions and responsibilities: statistics; geographic information systems; system development; and, national identity registration.

There are registration offices in 364 districts with supervision and training in birth and death registration. The NSIA is also responsible for the calculation of indicators, compilation of collected information, statistical analysis, report writing and the dissemination of vital statistics. Another key ministry for CRVS in Afghanistan is the Ministry of Public Health which is responsible for the collection of vital statistics data through health facilities and the health information management systems.

Legislation mandates that all civil events such as births, deaths, marriage, and divorce are to be reported, with all births and deaths to be registered within six months. There are currently no penalties for non-reporting and the registration of vital events is not widely practiced by the population. Birth registration occurs predominantly at health centers and there are no fees for registration. It is not necessary to have a birth certificate to gain entry to school. However, it is mandatory to have a national identification card.

There is little death registration and cause of death data is often not recorded accurately. Both private and public doctors can certify the cause of death, whereas deaths outside the hospital can be certified by the community leader or a non-professional registrar. Death certification is not necessary for funerals, or claiming pension or heritage services. Verbal autopsy is not widely used, and the International Classification of Disease is not routinely used in recording causes of death.

CRVS Focal Point:

Ms. Ghazalan Koofi, Director, Department of Birth and Death Registration, Afghanistan Central Civil Registration Authority

RSG Member:

Mr. Hasibullah Mowahed, Deputy Director General on Professional Affairs

Afghanistan

Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events

Goal 1 Targets:

1.A

By 2024, at least 80 per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.

1.B

By 2024, at least … per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

1.C

By 2024, at least … per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

1.D

By 2024, at least … per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.

1.E

By 2024, at least … per cent of all deaths recorded by the health sector in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year have a medically certified cause of death recorded using the international form of the death certificate.

Goal 2. All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, as necessary, to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights

Goal 2 Targets:

2.A

By 2024, at least 85 per cent of all births registered in the territory and jurisdiction are accompanied with the issuance of an official birth certificate that includes, as a minimum, the individual’s name, sex, date and place of birth, and name of parent(s) where known.

2.B

By 2024, at least … per cent of all deaths registered in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are accompanied with the issuance of an official death certificate which includes, as a minimum, the deceased’s name, date of death, sex, and age.

Goal 3. Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and are disseminated

Goal 3 Targets:

3.A

By … (year), annual nationally representative statistics on births – disaggregated by age of mother, sex of child, geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.

3.B

By … (year), annual nationally representative statistics on deaths – disaggregated by age, sex, cause of death defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate), geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.

3.C

By 2024, at least … per cent of deaths occurring in health facilities or with the attention of a medical practitioner have an underlying cause of death code derived from the medical certificate according to the standards defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate).

3.D

By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to … per cent.

3.E

By 2024, at least … per cent of deaths taking place outside of a health facility and without the attention of a medical practitioner have their underlying cause of death code determined through verbal autopsy in line with international standards.

3.F

By … (year), key summary tabulations of vital statistics on births and deaths using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within one calendar year.

3.G

By … (year), key summary tabulations of vital statistics on causes of death using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within two calendar years.

3.H

By … (year), an accurate, complete and timely vital statistics report for the previous two years, using registration records as the primary source, is made available in the public domain.

Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events

Goal 1 is an expression of the internationally accepted principle of the universal coverage of civil registration. The CRVS system should register all vital events occurring in the territory and jurisdiction of the country or area, including among hard-to-reach and marginalized populations.

National Targets:

1.A

By 2024, at least 80 per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.

BASELINE

2015

37%

MIDTERM

2018

47.3%

TARGET

2024

80%

1.B

By 2024, at least … per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

1.C

By 2024, at least … per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

baseline

39.5%

1.D

By 2024, at least … per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.

baseline

1.5%

MIDTERM

2018

9.4%

1.E

baseline

33.3%

MIDTERM

2018

2.5%

Goal 2. All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, as necessary, to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights

Goal 2 reflects that CRVS systems provide legal documentation of civil registration to individuals and families for legal and administrative purposes. Legal documentation is strongly linked with a broad range of rights and activities, in particular legal identity. This goal addresses the distinction between the civil registration of a vital event and the possession of formal proof that it took place, in the form of legal documentation.

National Targets:

2.A

baseline

2015

41%

TARGET

2024

85%

2.B

baseline

41%

Goal 3. Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and are disseminated

Goal 3 highlights the critical importance of civil registration being linked to the production and quality assurance of vital statistics on the occurrence and characteristics of vital events.

National Targets:

3.A

3.B

3.C

3.D

By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to … per cent.

MIDTERM

2018

0.4%

3.E

3.F

3.G

3.H

By … (year), an accurate, complete and timely vital statistics report for the previous two years, using registration records as the primary source, is made available in the public domain.

Afghanistan