NPC begins partnerships to digitise civil registration –chairman

The National Population Commission (NPC) on Monday, in Abuja, commenced strategic partnerships with relevant stakeholders, for the joint creation of a digital Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system for the country.

Alhaji Isa Kwarra, Chairman, National Population Commission (NPC), described the meeting as strategic to both the commission and the country, as it would provide a roadmap for the development and implementation of a work plan.

Represented by Dr Sulaiman Ismaila, Federal Commissioner, Kano, Kwarra expressed optimism that the meeting would deepen the digitisation of the CRVS process and coverage in Nigeria.

The NPC Chairman, who explained that the objective of the digitisation and automation of the CRVS system in the country was to enable data end users access real time data, added that this was in line with international best practice.

“There is no doubt that we are in a digital age. To this end, a fully functional digitised and automated CRVS system will provide real time data and is a gold standard for generating birth and mortality data in a population, “he said.

Kwarra said that the commission had developed a five-year national strategic action plan on CRVS from 2018 to 2022, with the Action plan spelling out the feasible and measurable interventions that would reposition the CVRS system in the country by 2022.

Dr Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health, said that the first birthday gift to every child should be a birth registration.

Represented by Mrs Deborah Jokodola, Assistant Director in the ministry, the minister added that birth registration was key to planning a child’s future.

Ehanire assured the NPC of the ministry’s support in transiting the country to digital legal identification system.

Mr Lawal Idris, Chairman, House Committee on Population, said that a transition from paper registration to digital was paramount in meeting up with current global standards.

Idris reiterated the commitment of the National Assembly to the digitisation of population data, saying that the legislature would continue to support the NPC, as the transition from paper CRVS to digital one would require a lot of effort, including uninterrupted power to make it a success.

NAN reports that CRVS is a continuous, permanent, compulsory and universal recording through the registration of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events, pertaining to the population, as provided for by a country’s laws.(NAN)