IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
The current pandemic is disrupting CRVS systems all over the world, but well-functioning systems are more essential than ever. As a result, the UN Statistics Division, the World Health Organization and the UN Legal Identity Agenda Task Force have developed resources offering guidance for civil registration stakeholders on maintaining CRVS activities.
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The Second Ministerial Conference on CRVS has been postponed to 2021. The uncertainty of the current situation made it unfit to properly prepare for this event, meant to celebrate progress midway through the CRVS Decade (2015-2024), identify remaining challenges, emphasize the role CRVS plays in sustainable development and promote CRVS as the foundation for legal identity.
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ESCAP is collecting country midterm questionnaires to measure regional progress through the midpoint of the CRVS Decade (2015-2024). Responses will inform and guide preparations for the Second Ministerial Conference in October 2020.
What are the numbers so far?
| In light of the current global situation, the celebration of the midpoint of the CRVS Decade (2015-2024) has been postponed. The ongoing crisis indeed impedes the safe organization of such an event, and sheds a new light on the needs for CRVS systems which might feed into the discussions on the remaining challenges in the region. In the build up to the Conference, additional information and resources can be accessed here. |
Considering the ongoing challenges due to COVID-19, the Regional Steering Group for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific made a recommendation to the 76th Session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific to postpone the Second Ministerial Conference on CRVS until 2021. The Commission adopted the decision to postpone the Second Ministerial Conference on 21 May 2020.
Limited testing capacity for COVID-19 makes it difficult to assess case numbers & deaths, especially in low-income settings. A new technical package, designed by Vital Strategies, provides guidance on how rapid mortality surveillance can give a clearer picture on total disease burden.
Plan International, the creators of OpenCRVS, the digital civil registration system designed for low resource settings, will host and participate in a series of webinars for governments, donors, development partners and system integrators.
Data for Health's Data for COVID-19 Webinar Session this week was on Maintaining Civil Registration during COVID-19. (link to the session recording and English language version of the slides).
The Centre of Excellence for CRVS Systems will launch a new online "Directory of Experts" in June 2020. Key functionalities will include searchable and filterable profiles of the Directory members, direct communication between users and members, as well as the ability for members to manage/update their profiles. Organisations working in the field of CRVS can also create accounts, which will allow them to circulate announcements, job postings, information, news to relevant members.
This list contains the names and organizational information for country-nominated CRVS national focal points as of May 2020.
As referenced in our April edition of CRVS Insight, the UN Statistics Division developed a short survey for National CRVS focal points to assess the impact of the global pandemic on the functioning of civil registration worldwide, as well as provide information regarding national solutions. In Asia and the Pacific, the questionnaire was distributed by ESCAP to National CRVS Focal Points.
With the explicit goal of helping countries accurately identify deaths from the novel coronavirus in a uniform manner, the WHO recently published the International Guidelines for Certification and Classification (Coding) of COVID-19 as Cause of Death. The document was released on 16 April.
