The value of good-quality mortality data for public health is widely acknowledged. While effective civil registration systems remains the ‘gold standard’ source for continuous mortality measurement, less than 25% of deaths are registered in most African countries. Alternative data collection systems can provide mortality data to complement those from civil registration, given an understanding of data source characteristics and data quality.

The section on the cause of death on the death certificate is identical worldwide. It has two parts - called Part I and Part II, and a section to record the time interval between the onset of each condition and the date of death. 
Part I - is used for diseases or conditions that form part of the sequence of events leading directly to death. 
Part II - is used for conditions which have no direct connection with the events leading to death but whose presence contributed to death.

This document highlights the importance of birth registration in Africa and presents the status of birth registration, what is currently being done and recommendations for improvement.

This is a draft copy of the CRVS assessment tool in Africa.

In this series of articles, the role of universal civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems is examined as an essential tool for good governance and inclusive development.  In the first article in the series, the case is made for investing in CRVS systems; the current situation in countries in the region is described, and the emergence and development of regional collaboration on CRVS is summarized.  In the second article, the actions taken in specific countries to strengthen their CRVS systems are highlighted, and the lessons learned are described, with several innovative approaches being showcased. The third article contains a description of the relationships between CRVS systems (civil registration and population databases in particular), legal identity, the realization of human rights and access to basic social protection, using country examples from the Asia-Pacific region for these purposes.  In the fourth and final article, the importance of building a sound evidence base for efforts to improve CRVS is highlighted, and a framework for prioritizing research activities is proposed.