Gaborone, Botswana, 21 February 2014 (ECA) - The 9th African Symposium on Statistical Development (ASSD) has called upon the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to institutionalize a stable structure for the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Secretariat.
This was contained in a resolution statement presented to the Government of the Republic of Botswana at the closing ceremony of the 5-day high level meeting which brought together more than 450 delegates from more than 50 countries. "The ECA shall have an institutionalized stable structure for the CRVS secretariat for sustaining the coordinating the implementation of the Africa Programme Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics" read the Statement in part.
The delegates also recommended that the CRVS Secretariat complete the continental CRVS web based knowledge management platform and develop innovative methods to enable countries to benchmark themselves against continental performance standards.
Meanwhile, the statement called upon member States to avail sufficient technical and financial resources for the development of CRVS systems in view of the vital role of the systems in complimenting and maximizing the usability of data from Census. Member States were also urged to take concrete action in registering all events pertaining to refugees, Internally Displaced People and other marginalized populations as integral part of their CRVS systems.
Similarly, countries that are yet to undertake CRVS assessments have been urged to commence the assessment process as directed by the 2nd Ministerial Conference. Earlier in the week, ECA reported that more than 20 countries have either conducted an assessment and have either developed the plan or have at least initiated the process.
The resolution also called upon the Government of Botswana, host of the 9th ASSD from 17-21 February 2014 to be the focal point for mobilizing countries and providing leadership for the development of CRVS on the continent. Botswana has been hailed as a model for statistical development on the continent.
The ASSD was closed by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Republic of Botswana, Kenneth Matambo.
The 10th ASSD will be held in Kampala, Uganda in December 2014.
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