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By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
The Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Isa Kwarra has revealed that digitization of birth and death registration is in the plans of the commission.
Kwarra stated this on Wednesday in Abuja at a press briefing to mark the Africa Civil and Vital Statistics (CVRS) Day.
He said, “It is in our plans to have a transformed integrated and digitalized civil registration and vital statistics systems in the improvement of data for effective policy formulation, decision making and good governance.
“In doing so conscious effort should be made to ensure that the Civil Registration and Vital Registration System enjoys a broad-based support that leverages the development in information technology which supports a future where it will have an integrated effect on future censuses especially in our country Nigeria.
“The National Population Commission which has the statutory mandate to establish a universal and compulsory system of registration of vital events in the country has not rested on its oars in providing leadership for the performance of this responsibility. From its humble beginning of manual registration, the Commission has carefully navigated initial teething challenges and is at the thick of an effective transformation from manual to wholly digitization and automation of the CVRS system in Nigeria
by setting aside one day of the year as Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Day, we are saying that civil registration (deaths & births) process with specific focus on birth/death registration especially of new-born children must get the attention it deserves as a demonstration of our political commitment at the country level, and we are committed to taking our civil registration system to a higher level.”
He added that the Commission plans to inaugurate the CRVS Coordination Committee in September 2022 that will include numerous partners and CRVS entities especially the Ministry of Health, Education, Justice, Women Affairs, the Identity Management commission and Bureau of Statistics, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) and other UN agencies like UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA and IOM – to strengthen and improve high level coordination and promote the use of data generated through the CRVS system for national development and planning.
“The plan is to further support appropriate institutional and human infrastructure and operational procedures to capture vital statistics diverse events in Nigeria, ensure commitments and a sustained national, international, financial and political investment for civil registration within the CRVS systems.
“The Commission is committed to continue building solid partnerships and collaboration with our multi-sectoral partners (in particular NIMC, the Federal/State Ministry of Health and National Bureau of Statistics (BOS)) towards having an integrated system within the identity management eco-system and increasing demand for civil registration and vital statistics systems.”
