Today’s acronym is CRVS, and its importance in Africa.
But let’s define the acronym first: Civil Registration and Vital Statistics. From the World Health Organization:
“In most countries, a civil registration system is used to record statistics on vital events, such as births, deaths, marriages, divorces and fetal deaths. This government administrative system creates a permanent record of each event.”
Note the phrase “in most countries.” And even in some countries with CRVS systems, they may not be (in WHO’s words) “well-functioning.”
Which is why this year’s ID4Africa Annual Meeting (May 12-15) will spend significant time on CRVS as it pertains to legal identity. Here’s the first session in “Track 4,” moderated by UNICEF and the World Bank:
“This session launches the examination of CRVS–ID integration as both a critical governance reform and a strategic opportunity for African countries at all stages of identity system maturity. While civil registration and national ID systems are foundational to legal identity and effective service delivery, they have too often evolved in silos—resulting in fragmentation, inefficiencies, exclusion, and lost value from public investments. Drawing on country experiences from across the continent, the session explores why coherent CRVS–ID integration is essential, what integration pathways are available, and how institutional, legal, and technical choices shape outcomes. Part I features countries that have already undertaken top-down integration reforms, sharing lessons learned and benefits realized. Part II turns to countries still assessing policy options, examining the risks of continued fragmentation, the opportunities offered by integration, and the practical trade-offs involved in moving forward.”
Several additional sessions follow.
Identity has been an issue for years, as I described in a 2021 post about the European Union Digital COVID Certificate (EUDCC). Yeah, way back then.
“Assume for the moment that you have received an EU-authorized vaccine. This is only part of the battle, because the act of vaccination has to be tied to you as a person.
“And [Dr. Joseph] Atick notes one complicating factor in making that link:
“‘One of the biggest barriers to setting up these systems—and one that could greatly complicate digital health certificates – involves traceability, which for an official digital ID means documenting one’s birth event.
“‘In Africa, not everyone has a birth certificate, and many struggle to trace their identity to the birth event.’
“If you cannot prove to the satisfaction of the European Union (or whoever) that you were the actual person who received a vaccine, then you may face barriers to entering Europe (or wherever).”
This not only affects travel, but benefits, banking, and everything else that I in the United States take for granted.
Bredemarket 