JOINT PRESS RELEASE

Yamoussoukro, 11 February 2015 – Discussions at the three-day Experts meeting that started on Monday 9 to Wednesday 11 February 2015, focussed on the reinforcement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) for the promotion of governance in Africa. The experts meeting which took place at the Houphouet Boigny Foundation Conference Center in Yammoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire, was chaired by Mr. Ibrahima Ba, Director General of the National Institute of Statistics in Côte d’Ivoire.

The experts exchanged views on how to better think and plan the future of the continent in relation with the development of CRVS systems, as well as copy from best practices from the advanced countries in the areas of CRVS. In order to understand where the continent stands currently, the experts also deliberated on the review of the Africa Programme on Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (APAI-CRVS). They noticed some of the progress made by Africa both at national and regional levels to mainstream CRVS in their development policies. They however noted that, more still needs to be done in order to establish an inclusive dynamics of development in Africa and to pursue actively the ideal of “leaving no child or country behind”.

On the other hand, the experts highlighted the importance of the establishment of solid and viable CRVS systems in African countries expecially in line with the recent adoption of the new framework document of Africa’s development, Agenda 2063 and the next advent of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in view of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The Experts underscored the need for governments to consolidate the realisation of basic human rights through a data revolution in Africa, so as to enable the revamping of their respective governance architecture and ensure a good service delivery.
For a people centred approach, the experts noted that some areas should be prioritised. These include the health sector, the rights of the children, the gender approach to avoid inequalities that can happen in a system where uneducated women cannot easily register their children, and ICTs that are useful tools to be taken into account by countries for the improvement of the CRVS system.

The symbolic calabash on CRVS was officially handed over by the representative of South Africa, former host of the conference of Ministers to the expert of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, future host of the conference on CRVS in the next two years. The report of the experts will be submitted to the ministerial meeting on CRVS to hold from 12-13 February 2015 in Yamoussoukro for adoption.

At the end of the meeting, experts were given a guided tour around the historic city of Yamoussoukro, notably a visit of the Catholic Roman Basilica and the Houphouet-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute that will host the Panafrican Institute of Statistics.

Interview requests should be addressed to Mrs. Esther Azaa Tankou, Head of Information Division at the Directorate of Information and Communication of the African Union, Tel: +22558117429, E-mail: yamboue@africa-union.org/esthertankou@yahoo.com