President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to inaugurate an Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System, along with a Geospatial Data Repository, on Wednesday. The new system encompasses various civil registrations, including birth, stillbirth, birth attestation, adoption, marriage notification, divorce notification, migration, and death.
This announcement was made by Nasir Kwarra, Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), during a pre-launch briefing held on Monday, November 6, 2023, in Abuja.
Enhancing Civic Registration and Vital Statistics Systems
Kwarra emphasized, “The launch of the e-CRVS by Tinubu signifies the commitment of the current government and leadership to enhance the collection, collation, processing, dissemination, and timely access to vital statistics in the country. It aims to expedite the improvement of civil registration and vital statistics systems in Nigeria over the next 10 years, from 2023 to 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.”
The chairman highlighted that, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the NPC had developed the e-CRVS Operational Readiness Assessment Report. This report showcased the potential of digital technologies to bring transformative outcomes to Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) and to securely store data from multiple systems on a large scale in a cost-effective manner in Nigeria.
Kwarra further explained, “The report paved the way for a significant step taken by the Commission, which involved a transformative innovation of the eCRVS (Vital Reg) system through the development of a Public-Private Partnership arrangement between the Commission and Barnksforte Technologies Limited. The PPP arrangement aims to promote the Vital Reg System as a fully electronic system for digitizing all civil registrations, including birth registration, stillbirth registration, birth attestation, adoption, marriage notification, divorce notification, migration, and death.”
Transition from Paper-Based Records
The NPC Chairman emphasized that the system provides digital certificates in all cases, a verification platform accessible to registered organizations, and a central management system (dashboard) for collating civil registrations into vital statistics for informed decision-making.
He further noted, “This marks a complete departure from the traditional paper-based recording of vital events, replacing it with a state-of-the-art digital solution that aligns with international best practices. This electronic CRVS promises to revolutionize the recording, tracking, and analysis of vital events in the country. Additionally, the NPC, in preparation for the first digital census in Nigeria, utilized cutting-edge technology, including the Geographic Information System, to capture geospatial data across multiple themes with complete national coverage.”
The geospatial data repository will also be launched for public and private sector use in Nigeria. President Tinubu is expected to inaugurate the CRVS National Coordination Committee during the ceremony.
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