Production and dissemination of vital statistics is one of the key outcomes of a civil registration system. Few low- and middle-income countries currently produce a vital statistics report based on civil registration records with a complete list of UN-recommended tabulations. Vital Strategies, in collaboration with UN ECA and ESCAP, developed and released the Technical Guidance for Strengthening the Vital Statistics Production Process in 2023, an accompanying document to the CRVS Systems Improvement Framework which provides a process-centric approach for establishing or improving the vital statistics production processes.

The Technical Guidance has been introduced to countries and experts via webinar, ESCAP’s Stat Café and workshops organized by ECA. To support implementation of the guidance, a five-day workshop was organized in New Delhi, India, with the objective of developing capacity for strengthening vital statistics processes using the Technical Guidance.

Over 40 participants attended the workshop with 20government staff from 10 countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia representing their civil registration and national statistics offices. Country teams reviewed their as-is business processes, assessed their IT and human resources capabilities and also designed as-desired business processes for vital statistics production and dissemination. Countries presented a high-level action plan outlining key actions that needed to be taken for strengthening vital statistics systems in their countries.

Participants found the cross-country exchange valuable and identified that there were multiple factors that affect whether a country is able to produce vital statistics, such as legal frameworks, data sharing MOUs and ensuring they are implemented, national statistics office’s capacity and capability.  

For the next steps, The Data Impact Program will provide a mechanism for workshop participants to continue the cross-country exchange and learning. This group will also help to serve as a forum for countries to ask questions and seek peer support as they progress in their plans for producing vital statistics.