In 2014, at the Sixty-seventh World Health Assembly, 194 Member States endorsed the Every Newborn: an action plan to end preventable deaths (Resolution WHA67.10), a road map of strategic actions to end preventable newborn mortality and stillbirths and contribute to reducing maternal mortality and morbidity. The Every Newborn Action Plan presents evidence-based solutions and sets out a clear path to 2020 with eight specific milestones for what needs to be done differently to greatly reduce mortality rates and improve maternal and newborn health by 2030.

The government's identity card proposals have far-reaching implications. The creation of a nation-wide population database on such a scale and with such complexity has rarely been attempted anywhere in the world. It is not surprising, therefore, that the proposals have sparked a lively debate throughout British society. The Government asserts that its version of a national identity system offers the potential to combat the threat of terrorism, identity fraud and illegal working.

Housed at Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Centre of Excellence is a global resource hub that actively supports national efforts to develop, strengthen, and scale-up civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems. Its role is to facilitate access to technical assistance, global standards and tools, evidence, and good practice.