Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve [email protected]
AFRICAN member states should urgently integrate birth registration into health services, with health workers authorised and trained to complete birth declarations as part of efforts to ensure every child is legally recognised from birth.
This is one of the key resolutions to emerge from the recent 2026 Annual Expert Group Meeting for Registrar Generals of Africa (EGMRG), which was held in Victoria Falls.
The week-long meeting brought together Registrar Generals and civil registration experts from all 54 African union member states to chart the continent’s civil registration agenda for the next decade.
Held under the theme: “New CRVS Decade (2026–2036): Consolidating the Gains of APAI-CRVS and Securing the Future of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Africa through Integration,
Decentralisation, and Digitalisation”, the meeting resolved that Member States should leverage health service delivery points to capture births.
“Member States should integrate birth notification, registration, and certification into maternity and child health services, ensuring that births are registered before the mother and child leave the health facility and that health workers should be authorised and trained to complete birth declarations,” reads one of the adopted recommendations.
Delegates said many African countries have missed opportunities to register births occurring in health institutions, and that this integration would close a critical gap in legal identification.
Beyond health integration, the meeting adopted a comprehensive set of recommendations across 11 pillars. These include elevating CRVS as a national development priority and strengthening governance through multi-sectoral coordination committees.
On digital transformation, member states were encouraged to endorse the African eCRVS Shared Asset (ACiSA) as the continental standard and to integrate digital signatures into CRVS systems.
The meeting also stressed the need to strengthen legal frameworks for data protection and privacy to support secure data sharing and interoperability.
The experts further recommended that member states increase domestic financing for CRVS by establishing dedicated budget allocations, and actively engage Ministries of Finance, Health and Parliamentarians as CRVS champions.
The conference also saw Zimbabwe assume the chairmanship of the Bureau of African Registrars General.
Zimbabwean Registrar General Mr Henry Machiri accepted the role, pledging to advance the CRVS agenda across the continent.
“It is with profound honour, humility and a deep sense of responsibility that I accept the Chairmanship of the Bureau of African Registrars General,” said Mr Machiri.
“Universal and comprehensive civil registration systems enable Governments to protect the rights of their citizens, improve access to essential services, strengthen national planning and monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and the aspirations of Agenda 2063.”
The outcomes of the meeting will be crucial in preparing for the 6th Conference of African Ministers (COM6) and will guide the continent’s CRVS strategy for the next ten years.
