Gaps in the civil registration and vital statistics systems of low- and middle-income countries and the health sector's role in improving the situation

AbstractComplete or improving civil registration systems in sub-national areas in low- and middle-income countries provide several opportunities to better understand population health and its determinants. In this article, we provide an assessment of vital statistics in Kerala, India. Kerala is home to more than 33 million people and is a comparatively low-mortality context. We use individual-level vital registration data on more than 2.8 million deaths between 2006 and 2017 from the Kerala MARANAM (Mortality and Registration Assessment and Monitoring) Study. Comparing age-specific mortality rates from the Civil Registration System (CRS) to those from the Sample Registration System (SRS), we do not find evidence that the CRS underestimates mortality. Instead, CRS rates are smoother across ages and less variable across periods. In particular, the CRS records higher death rates than the SRS for ages, where mortality is usually low and for women. Using these data, we provide the first set of annual sex-specific life tables for any state in India. We find that life expectancy at birth was 77.9 years for women in 2017 and 71.4 years for men. Although Kerala is unique in many ways, our findings strengthen the case for more careful attention to mortality records within low- and middle-income countries, and for their better dissemination by government agencies.

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An introduction to the civil registration and vital statistics systems with applications in low- and middle-income countries

Journal of Health Population and Nutrition ◽

10.1186/s41043-019-0177-1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 38 (S1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Samuel Mills ◽

Jane Kim Lee ◽

Bahie Mary Rassekh

Keyword(s):

Technical Assistance ◽

Identity Management ◽

Vital Statistics ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

World Bank Group ◽

Middle Income ◽

Civil Registration ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Bank Group ◽

Low And Middle Income

Abstract In collaboration with development partners, the World Bank Group (WBG) has been working to strengthen civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems in low- and middle-income countries through lending operations, technical assistance projects, advisory services and analytics, and knowledge sharing at various international, regional, and national conferences and fora and through publications. In 2017, it launched a comprehensive CRVS eLearning course, which provides practical tools and approaches to achieving twenty-first-century state-of-the-art CRVS systems that are linked to identity management systems and are tailored to local contexts. Some of the key lessons learned from the various initiatives and projects are presented in the eight peer-reviewed manuscripts included in this issue.

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Adult death registration in Matlab, rural Bangladesh: completeness, correlates, and obstacles

Genus ◽

10.1186/s41118-021-00125-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 77 (1) ◽

Author(s):

M. Moinuddin Haider ◽

Nurul Alam ◽

Mamun Ibn Bashar ◽

Stéphane Helleringer

Keyword(s):

Social Services ◽

Vital Statistics ◽

Sample Survey ◽

Death Registration ◽

Local Planning ◽

Middle Income ◽

Information Campaigns ◽

Rural Bangladesh ◽

Civil Registration ◽

Middle Income Countries

AbstractCivil registration of vital events such as deaths and births is a key part of the process of securing rights and benefits for individuals worldwide. It also enables the production of vital statistics for local planning of social services. In many low- and lower-middle-income countries, however, civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems do not adequately register significant numbers of births and, especially, deaths. In this study, we aim to estimate the completeness of adult death registration (for age 15 and older) in the Matlab health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) area in Bangladesh and to identify reasons for (not) registering deaths in the national CRVS system. We conducted a sample survey of 2538 households and recorded 571 adult deaths that had occurred in the 3 years preceding the survey. Only 17% of these deaths were registered in the national CRVS system, with large gender differences in registration rates (male = 26% vs. female = 5%). Respondents who reported that a recent death in the household was registered indicated that the primary reasons for registration were to secure an inheritance and to access social services. The main reasons cited for not registering a death were lack of knowledge about CRVS and not perceiving the benefits of death registration. Information campaigns to raise awareness of death registration, as well as stronger incentives to register deaths, may be needed to improve the completeness of death registration in Bangladesh.

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eLearning course for improving civil registration and vital statistics systems

Journal of Health Population and Nutrition ◽

10.1186/s41043-019-0182-4 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 38 (S1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Samuel Mills ◽

Sheila Jagannathan ◽

Jane Kim Lee ◽

Bahie Mary Rassekh

Keyword(s):

World Bank ◽

Vital Statistics ◽

World Bank Group ◽

Open Learning ◽

Middle Income ◽

Civil Registration ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

The World Bank ◽

The World ◽

Bank Group

Abstract The World Bank Group (WBG), in partnership with the Global Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Group, the Korea Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the WBG Open Learning Campus, launched the first comprehensive CRVS eLearning course in May 2017. The development of this course demonstrates the commitment and collaboration of development partners and governments working closely together in building the capacity of national institutions to improve CRVS systems in low- and middle-income countries. As of December 2018, over 2300 learners from 137 countries have enrolled in the course. This paper discusses how the course has been developed, disseminated, and evaluated thus far. It also presents the challenges faced and how the course has improved based on feedback from course participants.

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