Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
Registration of births and deaths in the Marshall Islands is undertaken through the national Civil Registry Office which sits under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The system is centralized and requires families to come to the office either in Majuro or on Kwajalein, the two most populated atolls, to complete the registration. Although registration is compulsory by law, it is still incomplete. Duplicate records are also an issue, as searching for previously issued certificates is difficult and it is not uncommon for people to simply ask for a new registration when a formal certificate is needed. Additionally, multiple programs within the Ministry of Health record births and deaths. These include data collected through the two major hospitals on Majuro and Kwajalein, and outer island health programs. Monthly reporting from the outer islands is frequently done by citizens band radio calls.
The main challenges to overcome the sparse repartition of inhabitants include a better collaboration between health information services and the civil registration office, and more generally legislative review, personnel capacity building and public awareness raising. The country also still lacks a vital statistics system capable of analysing the civil registration data.
CRVS Focal Point:
Mr. Scott Keju, Chief Statistical Collection and Data Analysis, Economic Policy, Planning, and Statistics Office
Ms. Edlen Anzures, Health Informatics Director, Ministry of Health and Human Services
Marshall Islands
Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events |
Goal 1 Targets:
1.A
By 2024, at least … per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
1.B
By 2024, at least … per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.
1.C
By 2024, at least … per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.
1.D
By 2024, at least … per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
1.E
By 2024, at least … per cent of all deaths recorded by the health sector in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year have a medically certified cause of death recorded using the international form of the death certificate.
Goal 2. All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, as necessary, to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights |
Goal 2 Targets:
2.A
By 2024, at least … per cent of all births registered in the territory and jurisdiction are accompanied with the issuance of an official birth certificate that includes, as a minimum, the individual’s name, sex, date and place of birth, and name of parent(s) where known.
2.B
By 2024, at least … per cent of all deaths registered in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are accompanied with the issuance of an official death certificate which includes, as a minimum, the deceased’s name, date of death, sex, and age.
Goal 3. Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and are disseminated |
Goal 3 Targets:
3.A
By … (year), annual nationally representative statistics on births – disaggregated by age of mother, sex of child, geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.
3.B
By … (year), annual nationally representative statistics on deaths – disaggregated by age, sex, cause of death defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate), geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.
3.C
By 2024, at least … per cent of deaths occurring in health facilities or with the attention of a medical practitioner have an underlying cause of death code derived from the medical certificate according to the standards defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate).
3.D
By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to … per cent.
3.E
By 2024, at least … per cent of deaths taking place outside of a health facility and without the attention of a medical practitioner have their underlying cause of death code determined through verbal autopsy in line with international standards.
3.F
By … (year), key summary tabulations of vital statistics on births and deaths using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within one calendar year.
3.G
By … (year), key summary tabulations of vital statistics on causes of death using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within two calendar years.
3.H
By … (year), an accurate, complete and timely vital statistics report for the previous two years, using registration records as the primary source, is made available in the public domain.
Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events |
Goal 1 is an expression of the internationally accepted principle of the universal coverage of civil registration. The CRVS system should register all vital events occurring in the territory and jurisdiction of the country or area, including among hard-to-reach and marginalized populations.
National Targets:
1.A
By 2024, at least … per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
1.B
By 2024, at least … per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.
MIDTERM
201783.8%
1.C
By 2024, at least … per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.
1.D
By 2024, at least … per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
1.E
By 2024, at least … per cent of all deaths recorded by the health sector in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year have a medically certified cause of death recorded using the international form of the death certificate.
Goal 2. All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, as necessary, to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights |
Goal 2 reflects that CRVS systems provide legal documentation of civil registration to individuals and families for legal and administrative purposes. Legal documentation is strongly linked with a broad range of rights and activities, in particular legal identity. This goal addresses the distinction between the civil registration of a vital event and the possession of formal proof that it took place, in the form of legal documentation.
National Targets:
2.A
By 2024, at least … per cent of all births registered in the territory and jurisdiction are accompanied with the issuance of an official birth certificate that includes, as a minimum, the individual’s name, sex, date and place of birth, and name of parent(s) where known.
2.B
By 2024, at least … per cent of all deaths registered in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are accompanied with the issuance of an official death certificate which includes, as a minimum, the deceased’s name, date of death, sex, and age.
Goal 3. Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and are disseminated |
Goal 3 highlights the critical importance of civil registration being linked to the production and quality assurance of vital statistics on the occurrence and characteristics of vital events.
National Targets:
3.A
By … (year), annual nationally representative statistics on births – disaggregated by age of mother, sex of child, geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.
TARGET
Target achieved
3.B
By … (year), annual nationally representative statistics on deaths – disaggregated by age, sex, cause of death defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate), geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.
TARGET
Target achieved
3.C
By 2024, at least … per cent of deaths occurring in health facilities or with the attention of a medical practitioner have an underlying cause of death code derived from the medical certificate according to the standards defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate).
Note: This target was not monitored as part of the Midterm Questionnaire on the Implementation of the Regional Action Framework for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific.
3.D
By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to … per cent.
baseline
20137.6%
MIDTERM
20184.7%
3.E
By 2024, at least … per cent of deaths taking place outside of a health facility and without the attention of a medical practitioner have their underlying cause of death code determined through verbal autopsy in line with international standards.
Note: In light of recent countries’ experiences, Verbal autopsy is not encouraged to be applied to a large population scale, but rather on a representative sample. To reflect this, Target 3E is not anymore monitored by the coverage percentage of Verbal autopsy, but by the use or not of Verbal autopsy and its different applications.
MIDTERM
Yes
3.F
By … (year), key summary tabulations of vital statistics on births and deaths using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within one calendar year.
TARGET
Target achieved
3.G
By … (year), key summary tabulations of vital statistics on causes of death using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within two calendar years.
TARGET
Target achieved
3.H
By … (year), an accurate, complete and timely vital statistics report for the previous two years, using registration records as the primary source, is made available in the public domain.
TARGET
Target achieved
Marshall Islands
National Coordination Mechanism
Status in Marshall Islands: Complete
Comprehensive Assessment
Status in Marshall Islands: Complete
National Targets for 2024
Status in Marshall Islands: Not started
Monitoring & Reporting Plan
Status in Marshall Islands: Complete
Inequality Assessment
Status in Marshall Islands: Not started
National Strategy
Status in Marshall Islands: Complete
National Focal Point
Status in Marshall Islands: Not started
Reporting to ESCAP - Baseline
Status in Marshall Islands: Not started
Reporting to ESCAP - Midterm
Status in Marshall Islands: Complete
Marshall Islands Events
09 December 2015 - 10 December 2015
The workshop for National CRVS Focal Points is aimed at strengthening capacities for setting national targets and collecting, compiling and…
Marshall Islands News
09 February 2022
Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Palau, Vanuatu and Samoa are working to produce vital statistics report based on civil registration data. A…
01 February 2022
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight February 2022)
Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Palau, Vanuatu and Samoa are working to produce vital statistics report based…
20 October 2021
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight October 2022)
The preparations for the Second Ministerial Conference on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific are nearly complete…
08 September 2017
The Pacific Ministers of Health Meeting was held in the Cook Islands from 28-30 August. Ministers emphasized the importance of CRVS to the health…
06 September 2017
The Cook Islands hosted the Pacific Ministers of Health Meeting 28-30 August 2017. Ministers again emphasized the importance of civil registration…
11 May 2017
Road traffic accidents and injuries are an important cause of premature deaths in the Pacific Islands, but are often poorly recorded in our cause of…
03 April 2017
Do you want to know how many countries in Asia and the Pacific have a CRVS coordination mechanism? Are you interested in how ambitious the national…
29 April 2016
Here you can find recent news, events and blogs relevant for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific.
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Marshall Islands Resources
Country Assessments and Strategies, 2020
Advocacy Materials, Country Assessments and Strategies, Report, 2019
Within the last five years, almost all Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) have undertaken an assessment of the civil registration and…
Meeting Documents, 2017
An Information Paper on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics prepared for the 5th Regional Conference of Heads of Planning and Statistics (HOPS),…
Advocacy Materials, 2017
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics play a key role in facilitating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. A well-functioning CRVS…
Newsletters, 2017
Articles
Enroll in the facilitated CRVS eLearning course today
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Advocacy Materials, Country Assessments and Strategies, 2017
Do you want to know how many countries in Asia and the Pacific have a CRVS coordination mechanism? Are you interested in how ambitious the national…
Meeting Documents, UN Official Documents, 2016
The seventy-first session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific adopted resolution 71/14 on the Asian and Pacific Civil…
Meeting Documents, 2014
Civil registration and vital statistics update briefing for the meeting of ministers of health of the Pacific island countries in Honiara July 2014
International Standards and Recommendations, UN Official Documents, 2014
Through Commission resolution 69/15, countries in Asia and the Pacific requested that further regional action be taken to support the improvement of…
Meeting Documents, 2016
WHAT WE DO: We provide an opportunity to share information, lessons learned and good practice. This fosters coordination and integration of Civil…
Country Statements, 2014
Marshall Islands issued this statement in the Ministerial Conference agenda item 6 regarding the State of civil registration and vital statistics in…
Meeting Documents, 2014
Advocacy Materials, Meeting Documents, 2014
The Ministerial Declaration to "Get every one in the picture' in Asia and the Pacific was made at the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration…
Meeting Documents, Report, UN Official Documents, 2014
The Report of the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific gives an overview of the main outcomes of…
Advocacy Materials, 2014
In preparation for the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific a fact sheet on civil…
Events
News
Resources
Country Assessments and Strategies, 2020
Advocacy Materials, Country Assessments and Strategies, Report, 2019
Country Assessments and Strategies, 2014