(Newsletter August 2023)

A series of three workshops were jointly organized by ESCAP, CDC Foundation, SPC, the WHO and UNICEF from 23-25 August to revitalize the Papua New Guinea CRVS Action Plan and re-energize key stakeholders and development partners.  The Papua New Guinea CRVS Action Plan (2020-2021) set out the goal that universal and timely registration of all births and deaths in Papua New Guinea would be achieved and that the country is able to produce vital statistics from civil registration records by 2050.

The workshops engaged over 30 national stakeholders from the Papua New Guinea Civil and Identity Registry (PNGCIR), Department of Health, National Statistics Office, Department of Justice, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Provincial and Local Governments, and twelve development partners (ESCAP, ADB, UNICEF, CDC Foundation, WHO, World Bank, MFAT, DFAT, Vital Strategies, UNDP and UNFPA).  The workshops focused on an in-depth examination of interoperability and data sharing between relevant authorities engaged in the CRVS system in PNG, which informed an update of the national action plan to reflect progress made since 2019 and specific areas which require more targeted support.

National stakeholders, together with development partners, developed and agreed upon an updated National CRVS Action Plan for 2023-2025, and development partners identified specific areas of the action plan where they could provide further support.  

More information on the event available here.