Between 26 and 28 March, over 60 civil registrars and CRVS professionals, representing 20 Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) convened in Nadi, Fiji for the Pacific Civil Registrars Network (PCRN) meeting which was organized by The Pacific Community (SPC), with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative. The PCRN was created in 2014 with a vision that civil registrars across the Pacific will work together in ways that are responsive to local needs, with a shared approach to legislative change, thus enabling technology and data exchange.  

The meeting provided a forum for civil registrars to share progress and challenges in CRVS improvement, facilitate knowledge exchange and identify areas for potential collaboration, as well as priority areas that are of common concern to civil registrars in the region. Some of the key themes which the meeting addressed included digitization of CRVS systems, mobility, climate resilience and regional approaches to build capacity, such as the Regional Cause of Death Coding Approach. 

Mr. Jeff Mongomery (Programme Lead for CRVS at SPC) commented: “Increasingly, Pacific people are being born in one country and are dying in another.” Mr. Montgomery explained “Economic and climate factors are likely to lead to additional population relocation in coming years.”  Read full article here. 

The Pacific Health Information Network (PHIN) meeting also took place concurrently to the PCRN meeting, which convened over 60 health information system professionals from across the Pacific, providing a collaborative space for national government agencies, development partners and other stakeholders to share knowledge and best practices, and identify gaps in digital health capabilities.  

To access resources and country presentations from the PCRN meeting, please visit the SPC website