3 – 4 April 2023
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) organized the first Asia-Pacific CRVS Research Forum which was held from 3 - 4 April 2023. Hosted by ESCAP in Bangkok, the fully online event offered a major research, information sharing, and capacity-building opportunity for participants. They were able to present at and attend paper presentations and interactive sessions, including networking opportunities. Funding for the Research Forum was provided by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.
Key dates
| Monday, 14 November 2022 | Call for abstracts |
| Monday, 12 December 2022 | Abstract submission due date |
| Friday, 23 December 2022 | Authors notified of abstract submission outcome |
| Monday, 20 February 2023 | Draft paper or extended abstract submission due date |
| Monday, 13 March 2023 | Final notification of authors selected for presenting |
| Monday, 27 March 2023 | Submission of final materials or relevant documents for the Forum (papers, PowerPoint presentations, and/or posters) |
| Monday 3 - Tuesday 4 April 2023 | Asia-Pacific CRVS Research Forum |
Background
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasizes the inclusive and sustainable future for all with a focus on leaving no one behind. With a well-functioning civil registration vital statistics (CRVS) system, it helps ensure that every person has a legal identity, facilitating access to the benefits and protections of the State. Moreover, registering, documenting, and recording life events enhances good government and sustainable development. Knowing the population of a country and its subdivisions, leading causes of death, fertility rates and life expectancy enhances public administration by informing effective, efficient, and directed policies at the national and local levels. CRVS data are critical for monitoring development indicators, including SDG indicators, and 67 of the 231 SDG indicators rely on effective CRVS data, including those aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality, eliminating poverty,building resilience to climate-related disasters, and guaranteeing legal identity for all.
However, more than 100 low and middle-income countries lack functional CRVS systems, and, as a result, the registration rate of births and deaths is incomplete, which results uncertainties of who is being left behind as the relevant disaggregated population data are not available.
Despite continuous efforts, an estimated 64 million children under the age of five within Asia and the Pacific have not had their birth registered, and millions of other vital events, including deaths, are not registered. The midterm reports submitted by countries at the midpoint of the CRVS Decade demonstrated the need for greater efforts to accomplish the vision of universal and responsive CRVS systems. Reaffirmed commitment to improved CRVS systems has also been made at the Second Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, which was organised in November 2021.
Against this backdrop, ESCAP and Bloomberg Philanthropies are collaborating and implementing the project entitled ‘Getting everyone in the picture: Strengthening civil registration and vital statistics systems in Asia and the Pacific’ (Data 4 Health Initiative). The project builds on lessons learned through three phases of projects with the Data 4 Health initiative as well as multiple projects on CRVS implemented by the Statistics Division since the inception of the Asia and the Pacific CRVS Decade (2015-2024). The work supports implementation of the Regional Action Framework on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific and the further commitments made in the Ministerial Declaration on Building a More Resilient Future with Inclusive Civil Registration and Vital Statistics.
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