The second Ministerial Conference on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific is being organized for 2020 to review the progress made in the implementation of the Regional Action Framework on CRVS. As a first step, ESCAP recently issued etters to all seats of government in Asia and the Pacific asking them (a) to appoint a National CRVS focal point and (b) to nominate a representative to serve on the Regional Steering Group for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific. Appointment or confirmation of the national CRVS focal point As outlined in the Regional Action Framework on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific, national midterm progress reports are to be submitted to ESCAP over the course of the 2019 calendar year. Based on these reports, a midterm review will be conducted at the second Ministerial Conference in 2020. To collect the national midterm progress reports from countries, ESCAP prepared a standard questionnaire to be shared with the national CRVS focal points. To ensure the midterm questionnaire is sent to the correct persons in the countries, ESCAP asked seats of government to confirm or appoint a national CRVS focal point. Nomination to the Regional Steering Group for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific Since 2015, the Regional Steering Group, comprised of 30 members, has guided the implementation of the Regional Action Framework and acted as the custodian of the Asia and Pacific CRVS Decade (2015-2024). It also provided strategic guidance to governments and development partners for fostering cooperation and coordination at national and regional levels. However, as we are approaching the mid-point of the CRVS Decade, the membership of the Regional Steering Group will be renewed. In accordance with the terms of reference, ESCAP opened the nomination process again and asked all seats of government to nominate a representative to serve as a member for the 2020-2024 period. The future members will be particularly involved in the preparations for the second Ministerial Conference on CRVS in 2020. The nominations must be sent to ESCAP no later than Monday, 1 April 2019. The final decision on the membership will be based upon the criteria listed in the Terms of Reference of the Regional Steering Group. The new members will serve from January 2020 and will be actively involved in the preparation to the 2020 Ministerial Conference. For more information on the Regional Steering group please go to the following link: http://www.getinthepicture.org/regional-steering-group-crvs-asia-and-pacific. Next Steps April-May 2019: ESCAP will disseminate the midterm questionnaire to all national CRVS focal points. 27-31 May 2019: Presentation of the new list of Regional Steering Group members to the 75th Session Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific for approval. September 2019: Fifth meeting of the Regional Steering Group, with a strong focus on the technical discussions for the preparation of the 2020 Ministerial Conference. Second Half 2020: Second Ministerial Conference on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific.

Between 28 - 30 January, in Bangkok, Thailand, Vital Strategies and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) organized a workshop for stakeholders responsible for the CRVS and digital ID ecosystem. The workshop, facilitated by a world-leading expert on BPI for CRVS systems, allowed facilitators to present and share a business process improvement approach to CRVS systems transformation, share experiences from applying the approach in other countries, as well as provide participants an initial, hands-on experience with the tools used for Business Process Improvement and introduce them to the Vital Strategies’ developed CRVS legal review tool and its relationship to the implementation of the BPI approach. For accessing the workshop's resources please visit http://www.getinthepicture.org/resource/resources-workshop-transforming-....

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), with support from the Bloomberg Data for Health Initiative (D4H), is holding the first workshop of the Project to improve the capacity of national Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems in producing and disseminating vital statistics. The Project supports the implementation of the Regional Action Framework on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific, in particular Goal 3 which stipulates that accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced, based on registration records, and disseminated. This multi-phased Project consists of two, sequential training workshops between January and March 2019 and will lead the participating countries in creating a complete, national vital statistics report. Resources can be accessed by following the link below. https://www.getinthepicture.org/resource/phase-ii-first-workshop-project...

Pakistan International Summit on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) was organized on November 28 - 29, 2018 in Islamabad. The summit was inaugurated by Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Planning, Development and Reform, Ms. Kanwal Shauzab. Participation was drawn from representatives from multiple Federal Ministries and Provincial Departments of Health, Planning, Local Governments, Law and Justice, Information Technology, National Registration Authority (NADRA) and development agencies. CRVS experts from International Partner Agencies mainly UNICEF, WB, DFID and WHO, universities and research organizations were also participated to share their experiences The summit was also attended by delegates of Maldives, Srilanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Speaking on the occasion honorable Parliamentary Secretary said that civil Registration and Vital Statistics is a comprehensive mechanism of collecting information on the frequency of occurrence of specified and defined vital events and no other system has such a potential of data collection from grass root level. She said that the Government of Pakistan recognizes that long term implementation of CRVS system is crucial for any society that aspires to have a meaningful impact on the lives of its people.  It was realized that collective efforts of all government departments, private sectors, civil society and academia are required for the successful implementation of National CRVS Program. Modalities need to be worked out to improve inter-sectoral coordination and its legal dimensions. She also lauded the role of Technical Support Unit of CRVS and development partners for organizing the event of this magnitude. This would undoubtedly open new avenues with all the partners and provincial governments. Dr Asma Hyder, Member Social Sector and Devolution at Planning Commission of Pakistan said that her Ministry under the dynamic visionary leadership of new government and its team is working with Civil society and non-governmental organizations in raising community awareness on significance of development of civil registration system. The summit is expected to accelerate the efforts of governments and development partners to ensure that by 2025, all the citizens in the country benefit from universal and responsive CRVS systems. It is hoped that in near future CRVS Pakistan would become at par with other nations, offering universal civil registration coverage to all individuals. This would also provide legal documentation to claim identity and ensuring rights. In addition, it would offer valuable set of vital statistics for planning, development and decision-making. Ministry of Planning Development & Reform also hosted a meeting of Civil Registrars of eight countries from South Asia (CR8) in collaboration with UNICEF on November 30, 2018 in Islamabad. The prime objective of the meeting was to boost the CR8 network and provide inputs to make it efficient, understand CR systems of the eight countries from South Asia to find common grounds for working together. This high-level regional meeting was attended by technical participants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh (online), Maldives, Pakistan. Whereas participants from Nepal, Sri Lanka were also present at the meeting. Observers such as senior managers and heads of international agencies also attended the meeting.