Lessons learned from local initiatives supporting sustainable civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems in Africa

Lessons learned from local initiatives supporting sustainable civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems in Africa
Side meeting at the 7^th African Population Conference
Johannesburg, South Africa, 28 November 2015
Protea Hotel Parktonian All-Suite - 120 De Korte St, Johannesburg, 2001 

Organized by the Scientific Panel on Innovations for Strengthening Civil Registration and Vital Statistical Systems
of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) 

With financial support from the United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA). 

PRESENTATIONS

Session 1: Current status of CRVS systems in Sub-Saharan Africa

Chair : P. Gerland (UN Population Division)

• Progress made in the implementation of the APAI-CRVS Programme
  Gloria Mathenge (Statistics South Africa/UNECA)

• UNICEF’s work in the area of CRVS in Africa
  Mayke Huijbregts (Chief Child Protection UNICEF Mozambique)

Session 2: Untapped sources of vital statistics data at the local level

Chair : Bruno Masquelier, Louvain University

• Vital registration systems in sub-Saharan Africa: history of a misconception and hope for the future
  Pierre Cantrelle (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement), Michel Garenne (Institut Pasteur International Network)

• Fertility and mortality in North-Central Namibia: an assessment of quality of parish registers to be used for civil registration in Namibia
  Veijo Notkola (University of Eastern Finland), Riikka Shemeikka (University of Helsinki), Nelago Indongo (University of Namibia), Harri Siiskonen (University of Eastern Finland)

Session 3: Assessment studies in various countries   

Chair : Romesh Silva, UN-ESCWA

• Lessons learned from Botswana
  Neo Lepang (Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Botswana)

• Lessons learned from Swaziland and Zambia
  Jeremiah Banda (University Of Zambia)

• Lessons learned from Namibia
  Stefanus van Staden and Anette Bayer Forsingdal (Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration, Namibia)

Discussant comments (Romesh Silva, UN-ESCWA)

Session 4: Evaluation of CRVS coverage

Chair : Gloria Mathenge, Statistics South Africa/UNECA

• Completing incomplete VR: Estimating the extent and trend in completeness of registration of births and deaths in South Africa
  Rob Dorrington (University of Cape Town)

• Completeness and coverage of CRVS in Senegal : analyzing census data to identify barriers to death registration
  Cheikh Tidiane Ndiaye (Agence Nationale de Statistique et de la Démographie, Sénégal), Bruno Masquelier (University of Louvain), Ndéye Binta DIEME (ANSD), Ibrahima DIOUF (ANSD), Samba NDIAYE (ANSD), Oumy Diagne (ANSD)

• The determinants of under-registration of deaths in Cameroon: the case of regional capitals
  Samuel Kelodjoue (Dschang University)

Session 5: Innovations in monitoring and recording vital events

Chair : P. Gerland, UN Population Division

• Accelerating results for children by digitizing civil registration and vital statistics systems in Mozambique
  Mitala Hosea (Technical Advisor CRVS UNICEF Mozambique), Mayke Huijbregts (Chief Child Protection UNICEF Mozambique), Neidi de Carvalho (CRVS Specialist UNICEF Mozambique)

• Birth registration in Uganda: challenges, opportunities and lessons
  Ssekisaka Farouk (School of Statistics and Applied Economics, Makerere University), Iga Shamira (Uganda Local Governments Authority)

Session 6: Improving mortality and cause-of-death statistics through CRVS

Chair : Neo Lepang, Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Botswana

• Updating an evaluation of the quality of national mortality statistics from civil registration in South Africa: 1997-2012
  Jane Joubert (South African Medical Research Council), Rob Dorrington (University of Cape Town), Debbie Bradshaw (South African Medical Research Council), Alan Lopez (University of Melbourne), Chalapati Rao (Australian National University), Cho Kabudula (MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), Pam Groenewald (South African Medical Research Council), Ria Laubscher (South African Medical Research Council), Theo Vos (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation)

• Involvement of local health departments enhances quality: lessons from local mortality surveillance in the Western Cape, South Africa
  Groenewald Pam (SA Medical Research Council), Juliet Evans (Western Cape Government Health), Tracey Naledi (Western Cape Government Health), Debbie Bradshaw (SA Medical Research Council)

• Cause of death profiles for district health planning - Experiences from South Africa
  Debbie Bradshaw (SA Medical Research Council), Candy Day (Health Systems Trust), Ria Laubscher (SAMRC Biostatistics Unit), Noluthando Ndlovu (Health Systems Trust), Groenewald Pam (SA Medical Research Council)