Civil Registration and Vital Statistics

Author(s): MEASURE Evaluation

Year: 2015

Abstract:

Information on births and deaths by age, sex, and cause of death is the cornerstone of public health planning. It is used to allocate resources and to determine which programs are effective. However, each year about 40 percent of births and two-thirds of deaths are still not registered. The essential role of civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) is recognized by country and multilateral agencies working to improve global health. CRVS data are needed to monitor many of the United Nations goals for global health by the year 2030, known as the sustainable development goals, or SDGs. And the reduction of maternal and child deaths are a top priority of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as expressed in the report on ending preventable child and maternal deaths (EPCMD) and the AIDS-free generation (AFG).

MEASURE Evaluation is USAID’s primary mechanism for strengthening health information systems, including CRVS. The project has more than a decade of experience working closely with low- to middle-income (LMIC) countries to improve their CRVS systems. This fact sheet describes standard and innovative approaches to measuring CRVS data, including in settings where a complete CRVS system isn’t fully functional, but there are multiple other sources of data.