A well-functioning Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System (CRVS) benefits every aspect of a person’s life from birth to death, and every aspect of society, from public health to economic development and national security.
Civil registration is a system of continuously and officially recording people’s life events and the key information about those events, including births and deaths, marriages and divorces. Vital statistics is the process of using the data from these records to generate statistical information. A well-functioning CRVS system ensures all vital events are registered and the resulting data are accurate, complete and timely.
These systems, and the benefits they bring, are foundational - allowing individuals to function in society and governments to operate effectively.
Despite this, approximately half of all deaths in the world go unrecorded and the births of 1 in 4 children under five have never been recorded.
Governments need these vital statistics, especially the causes of deaths, to be able to design effective public health policies, deploy resources and measure impact. Birth registration is the principal means of establishing a person’s legal identity without which they will experience difficulties accessing health and education services, state benefits, the formal job market, or banking services. Comprehensive CRVS systems also help to avoid identity fraud, child marriage, child labor, human trafficking and statelessness. Find out more about the benefits of CRVS to individuals and governments in our series of infographics and accompanying resources.
The Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) reviews countries’ legal frameworks, provides technical assistance to reform laws and supports budget sustainability for CRVS and identity management (ID) systems. Our work includes:
GHAI is an implementing partner of the Bloomberg Data for Health (D4H) Initiative, which works to strengthen and standardize birth and death registration systems so that everyone, everywhere, is counted.
Where We Work
1 billion people
live in countries that have no standardized system for collecting health data.
Roughly half of deaths
go unrecorded each year.
36 million babies
are born each year without their births being registered.
Close to 50% of women
in low-income countries have no way to prove their age or identity because they lack a birth registration.
2023
2021
2017-2023
In Cambodia GHAI provided technical legal support to develop and draft a new CRVSID law that was adopted in July 2023. The comprehensive new law guarantees civil registration to everyone residing in Cambodia, establishes a digital and decentralized system, removes obstacles and fees from the registration process, establishes a universal right to an ID card for citizens and includes privacy protections for personal data.
In Maldives GHAI provided technical budget advocacy support to the Department of National Registration that enabled the Ministry of Finance to approve the creation and funding of a new cadre of subnational (atoll-level) civil registrars in 2024 and commit to creating and funding island-level civil registrars in 2025-2027, while also financing the expansion of the use of biometric technology for nationwide identity management and supporting interoperability across vital event registration systems.
Legal Briefing
Budget Advocacy
Global Program and Financial Compliance Officer
Associate Director of Communications, Health Systems Strengthening
Communications Manager
Associate Director of Legal Advocacy
Program Director
Regional Communications Advisor
Uganda Media Coordinator
Advocacy Coordinator, Uganda
Phillippines Coordinator
Regional Advisor, Asia
Bangladesh Coordinator
Vice President, Health Systems Strengthening
Legal Associate
Director of Budget Advocacy
Country Director, Vietnam
Associate Director of Gender Advocacy
Lynn Sferrazza, Global; Nayib Chalela, Colombia; Julien Dabire, Burkina Faso; Christian Monje, Bolivia; Hadijah Namyalo, Uganda.; James Nombi; Kenya.
With budget advocacy support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), the Government of the Maldives has made a historic investment in the human and technical resources that support its national civil registration, vital statistics and identity management (CRVSID) systems.
June 9, 2025
April 17, 2025
April 15, 2025
