CEM REPORT, GOVERNANCE | Civil registration in Nigeria is a paper recording system which is very inefficient seeing that a person can own more than one birth registration certificate. However, this is about to change as the National Population Commission (NPC) has developed a portal that will become a database for all civil registrations in the country.
According to the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Kwarra, at a pre-launch briefing, the electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System and Geospatial Data Repository (e-CRVS) will collect and collate all civil registrations such as birth registration, stillbirth registration, birth attestation, adoption, marriage notification, divorce notification, migration and death in the country.
“This process marks a complete departure from traditional paper-based recording of vital events to a state-of-the-art digital solution that conforms to international best practices. This electronic CRVS promises to revolutionize how vital events are recorded, tracked, and analysed in the country.”
He added that the system provides a digital certificate in all cases, an accessible verification platform to registered organizations, and a central management system (dashboard) that depicts and analyses collated civil registrations into vital statistics for proper decision-making.
He stated that the e-CRVS will accelerate the improved civil registration and vital statistics systems in Nigeria over 10 years, from 2023 to 2030 in a bid to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal.
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The e-CRVS was developed in a Public Private Partnership arrangement between the Commission and Barnksforte Technologies Limited.
“The PPP arrangement is to promote the Vital Reg System as a completely electronic system that digitalizes all civil registrations such as birth registration, stillbirth registration, birth attestation, adoption, marriage notification, divorce notification, migration and death.
“This repository database will also be launched by Mr President for the use of the public and private sector in Nigeria. The CRVS National Coordination Committee will also be inaugurated by Mr President,” the commission added.
