What if... every child was in the picture Civil registration and vital statistics The case for investment

This paper recalls the vital functions that civil registration systems perform in ensuring legal protection to the people of a country and contributing to the economic and social development of a nation through creation of a permanent demographic database. While some “interim solutions” including demographic surveys and surveillance sites have been implemented to bridge the gap regarding health related data, the paper argues that these are not a substitute for strengthening the civil registration systems.

This handbook provides those working on birth registration with the background, general principles and programming process. The guide is divided into three main chapters: Understanding birth registration in the context of civil registration sets the scene for the rest of the guide, discussing why birth registration matters in the lives of children and provides an overview of what birth registration is and the international framework that governs its implementation.

The present study aims at identifying good practices led by UNICEF between 2000 and 2009 in integrating birth registration with the health system and promoting the use of information technology as tools for universalizing birth registration and strengthening health services for children.

The Asian and Pacific Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Decade 2015- 2024 was proclaimed at the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and Pacific, held in Bangkok in November 2014. This publication contains the Ministerial Declaration to "Get Every One in the Picture" and the Regional Action Framework on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific, which were two key outcomes of the Conference.

This publication presents the latest available data on the extent of unregistered children and assesses progress to date in increasing birth registration rates worldwide. The current publication spans 161 countries and presents the latest available country data and estimates (at both the global and regional levels) on birth registration.

This paper shows that improving birth registration in the region and tackling inequities present in many national registration practices requires a comprehensive, multi-sector and multi-dimensional response. It requires effective integration of governance, technical standards and operational practice, and investment in civil registrars as a critical human resource working with present-day equipment and information and communication technology.

The child who is not registered at birth is in danger of being shut out of society – denied the right to an official identity, a recognized name and a nationality. This Digest examines the situation of children who are denied a fundamental human right and who, in legal terms, do not exist. This Digest has three aims. First, to emphasize the value of birth registration. Second, to explore the obstacles to universal registration. Third, to identify the action needed to bring about universal birth registration.

This training course on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Systems has been prepared by the International Statistics Program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. The course is intended to provide information to epidemiologists, statisticians, demographers, and others working in public health about vital statistics data gathered from a national civil registration system.

The objective of this publication is to analyze the legal, administrative, and technological requirements for the use of information and communications technology (ICT) for birth registration. The intended audience includes civil registry agencies or those countries that are considering the introduction of ICT, as well as those that already have the system in place.