CRVS: Over 5m Children Born Annually, But Only 40% Births Registered – NPC

The National Population Commission (NPC) has said the digitalisation of Nigeria’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system has significantly improved the quality, efficiency, security and reliability of vital records across the country.

Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Aminu Yusuf, disclosed this on Friday at a press conference in Bauchi to commemorate the 2026 Africa Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Day.

Yusuf, who was represented by the Federal Commissioner representing Bauchi State, Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed Danburam, said the transition from fragmented, paper-based processes to an integrated digital platform was already producing tangible results.

He said digital technology had revolutionised the storage and management of vital records, noting that records were now securely maintained in centralised electronic repositories, protecting them from loss, damage and unauthorised alteration.

The theme of this year’s celebration “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, Decentralization and Digitization.”

According to him, the theme reflects Nigeria’s reform agenda and commitment to building an integrated, inclusive and technology-driven civil registration system.

He said Nigeria formally launched its nationwide fully digital CRVS system on July 1, 2026, through the VitalReg platform, marking the end of manual registration and the beginning of a new era of technology-driven civil registration.

Yusuf said the development placed Nigeria among African countries taking concrete steps towards achieving the objectives of the New CRVS Decade.

He explained that the system would facilitate secure, timely and reliable registration of births, deaths and other vital events, while providing quality data for effective governance, national planning and sustainable development.

“The nationwide deployment of the digital CRVS system is more than a technological milestone; it represents a fundamental transformation in the way civil registration services are delivered in Nigeria,” he said.

He added that the platform interfaces with other national systems, including health institutions, identity management agencies, planning bodies and statistical institutions, thereby strengthening Nigeria’s national data ecosystem.

The NPC chairman said digitalisation had also made registration services easier and more accessible, particularly for people in rural and underserved communities.

He said automated verification processes and unique identifiers would reduce duplication and strengthen the integrity and credibility of the national database.

Digitalisation, he added, would enable the timely production of vital statistics on births, deaths, marriages and other vital events to support evidence-based planning, efficient service delivery and informed decision-making.

However, Yusuf expressed concern over the low rate of birth registration in the country, saying more than five million children are born in Nigeria annually, while only about 40 per cent of births are registered, according to the latest Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey.

He added that death registration coverage also remained unacceptably low.

“These statistics underscore the urgent need to accelerate registration coverage through sustained public awareness, stronger partnerships and increased community participation,” he said.

He stressed that every birth, death and other vital event must be captured in the electronic CRVS system if Nigeria was to build a complete and reliable national database.

Yusuf said the NPC had adopted a broad partnership approach, recognising that universal civil registration could not be achieved by government alone.

He disclosed that in January 2025, the Commission entered into a Partnership Compact Agreement with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), UNICEF and Bankforte Technologies Limited to decentralise civil registration services, strengthen interoperability and expand digital registration at the grassroots.

He added that the Commission was working with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), state governments, health institutions and other partners to integrate birth registration into routine healthcare services.

As part of its decentralisation programme, he said digital civil registration services had been extended to about 4,000 of the 8,809 wards across the country, with efforts ongoing to achieve full coverage.

He further disclosed that the NPC had established more than 4,000 functional registration centres across the 774 local government areas and commenced an expansion programme aimed at increasing the number to approximately 8,000 centres nationwide.

According to him, the expansion, combined with the VitalReg platform, would reduce the time and cost of accessing registration services and ensure that no child or vital event was excluded because of distance or lack of access.

“As we embark on the New CRVS Decade (2026-2036), Nigeria remains firmly committed to consolidating the gains of the Africa Programme on Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics,” he said.

Yusuf also called for increased media support in raising public awareness about the importance of birth and death registration.

He urged state and local governments, traditional and religious institutions, health facilities, development partners, civil society organisations, community-based organisations and the private sector to support the Commission’s efforts.

“Together, through sustained advocacy, strategic investment and shared commitment, we can close the registration gap, strengthen public confidence in the system and ensure that no Nigerian is left behind,” he said.