Welcome to the CRVS Knowledge Gateway

Working together = Better data = Better world

Dr Fatima Marinho, Technical Advisor in Brazil for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative, shares her thoughts on how better data is achieved through working together, to build a better world.

Brazil's health data: How have they improved so much and so quickly?

Interview with Dr Mohsen Naghavi, Professor of Global Health at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Filmed in October 2017 during the Meeting on Improving the Quality of Information on Causes of Death in Brazil in Recife, Brazil.

O que é ANACONDA? Uma perspectiva brasileira / What is ANACONDA? A Brazilian perspective

The D4H team at the University of Melbourne spoke to the Brazilian ANACONDA trainer and statistician for the Ministry of Health, Ana Claúdia Medeiros de Souza, about initial feedback of the ANACONDA tool in October 2017.

Launch of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative in Colombia

Laureate Professor Alan Lopez AC, CRVS Technical Director of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative from the University of Melbourne describes interventions that Colombia will use to improve their cause of death data.

ANACONDA

ANACONDA course introduction. Presenter: Senior Technical Advisor, Dr Lene Mikkelsen

Completeness of birth and death registration

Completeness of birth and death registration course introduction. Presenter: Principal Research Fellow, Dr Tim Adair

Enterprise architecture/business process mapping

Enterprise architecture/business process mapping course introduction. Presenter: Senior Technical Advisor, Dr Carla AbouZahr

ICD-10

ICD-10 course introduction. Presenter: Research Fellow, Dr Vindya Kumarapeli

Medical certification of cause of death (MCCOD)

Medical certification of cause of death course introduction. Presenter: Senior Technical Advisor, Dr Tim Moore

Verbal autopsy

Verbal autopsy course introduction. Presenter: Technical Manager, Sonja Firth

Verbal autopsy costing tool

Verbal autopsy costing tool course introduction. Presenter: Senior Technical Advisor, Dr Carla AbouZahr

Barriers to death notification in the Solomon Islands

What are the barriers to death notification in the Solomon Islands and how does the country plan to use innovative methods to improve data? Dilip Hensman, Technical Officer, World Health Organization explains. Watch Dilip describe the outcomes to improved death data: https://youtu.be/ILg_E0M6iUs

Why are CRVS data important

Vital statistics are the information compiled about vital events registered in the civil registration system - but why are they important?

Myanmar's story of change

As part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative, Myanmar now has real-time cause of death data that forms the evidence-base for preventative health policies and plans. Khin Sandar Bo, Country Coordinator for Myanmar shares how the country is improving on the completeness of death registration while still working on quality of the data. Filmed in July 2018 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

SmartVA and ANACONDA improvement in China’s CRVS system

China has around 7.3 million people, yet almost 75% of deaths are in community settings and far less (2.5%) are actually coded for mortality statistics. Dr Jinlei Qi, Death Surveillance Vital Registration Chinese Center of Disease Control and Prevention, University of Melbourne Data for Health Initiative Fellow explains how her fellowship work on SmartVA and ANACONDA will work to fill these gaps in mortality data.

Analysis of medical records review and verbal autopsy data in Shanghai

Many deaths that occur in hospital and community settings aren't 'counted' for public health purposes, because often the underlying cause of death that is diagnosed isn't correct. Dr Chen Lei, Department of Vital Statistics, Shanghai Shanghai Municipal Center of Disease Control and Prevention, University of Melbourne Data for Health Initiative Fellow explains how her analysis of medical records and verbal autopsy data in Shanghai will work to address this problem.

Analysis of the quality of cause of death data in Shanghai

How can China optimise their health services to serve such a dense population? Cause of death data is key to allocating resources to prevent, manage and treat the country's top causes of disease burden, but it's important that that data is of quality. Dr Chen Jun, Department of Vital Statistics, Shanghai Putuo District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, University of Melbourne Data for Health Initiative Fellow explains.

Estimating coverage and omission of the births and deaths register at national and subnational levels in Peru

Despite Peru's efforts to improve birth and death registrations with online systems, registration rates are still not improving. José Llanos Solórzano, Data Analyst, National Institute of Statistics and Informatics and Fellow at the University of Melbourne explains why his work to estimate the coverage and omission of the births and deaths register at the national and subnational levels are important to monitor and control health outcomes.

Development and implementation of an e-learning module on death certification

After the successful launch of a medical certification of cause of death face-to-face training, Sri Lanka is working to educate all 20,000 doctors who are geographically spread around the country using an e-learning module. Dr Rangana Wadugedara, Medical Officer, Health Informatics, Office of Additional Secretary, Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka and University of Melbourne Data for Health Initiative Fellow is helping to design the module. He explains how it works.

Verbal autopsy's evolution in Tanzania

Tanzania has been using verbal autopsy since at least 2000, but with Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative, they have been able to pilot the intervention in routine civil registration and vital statistics systems. Gregory Kabadi, Country Coordinator, Data for Health Initiative explains how the work has evolved in Tanzania.

A short history of CRVS in Myanmar

Dr Wah Wah Maung, Director-General of Myanmar's Central Statistical Organization says that since the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative began in Myanmar, the country has seen great improvements to their civil registration and vital statistics system.

Zambia's death coverage climbs with Data for Health

Zambia's rate of death registration coverage has been low as a result of the law that requires all deaths that are registered to have a cause. The Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative in Zambia is using verbal autopsy methods to count deaths that occur outside of health settings, in order to get a better understanding of who is dying of what in the country, which will better inform preventative health policies and plans. Interview with Brian Munkombwe, Health Scientist, US CDC; Chomba Mwango, Country Coordinator, Data for Health Initiative; Lisuba Kabanda, Senior Registrar, National Registration Passport and Citizenship in Melbourne, Australia in December 2018.

Myanmar's five year CRVS strengthening strategy

"To improve the CRVS system, we need to cooperate, coordinate and collaborate," says Dr Wah Wah Maung, Director-General, Central Statistical Organization of Myanmar. Civil registration and vital statistics data will be very beneficial to the country she says, for evidence-based health planning, resource allocation, as well as monitoring and evaluation.

From death notification to registration (Bangladesh)

Mohamad Ashfaque Mukut, Deputy Secretary Cabinet Division (Bangladesh) and Deputy Project Director of the CRVS Technical Project, shares his fellowship work at the University of Melbourne that looks at a recent pilot in Kaliganj, Bangladesh that encourages health staff to notify community deaths.

Filling the gaps in Bangladesh's mortality data

University of Melbourne Fellow Dr Muhammad Adnan Khan, who is Assistant Chief Medical in the Director General (Health) in Bangladesh discusses the data quality of the medical certification of cause of death in Bangladesh.

Analysis of Bangladesh's verbal autopsy pilot in Kaligang

University of Melbourne Data for Health Fellow Mr Saiful Islam, Statistician for the Ministry of Health and Family Planning, Bangladesh discusses how Bangladesh is working to improve cause of death data in community settings, through analysis of the Data for Health verbal autopsy pilot in the sub-district of Kaligang Upazila (under the Gazipur District).

What are the preliminary findings of using HBCPs as verbal autopsy interviewers in Rwanda?

Marc Hagenimana from the Rwanda Biomedical Center, Ministry of Health and University of Melbourne Data for Health Fellow discusses the findings of Rwanda's use of Health-Based Care Practitioners as verbal autopsy interviewers in the country.

Implementing MCCOD in all public hospitals in Rwanda

How did Rwanda implement standardised MCCOD training across all public hospitals? Godfrey Ngoboka, Rwanda Country Coordinator, and James Mwanza, Rwanda Project Officer from Vital Strategies, explain the approach.

Fellowship profile with Xavier Ngomituje

Interview with Xavier Ngomituje, Statistician at the National Institute of Statistics Rwanda on what he is working on during his fellowship at the University of Melbourne as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative. Read Xavier's fellowship report: https://crvsgateway.info/file/5452/1977

Indonesia's path to identify the country's leading causes of death

How will Indonesia's verbal autopsy work evolve during the Data for Health Initiative, how important are mortality statistics and what are and what do we already know about mortality trends in the country? An interview with Soewarta Kosen from the National Institute of Health Research and Development in Indonesia, filmed in February 2018.

Lessons learned from the Beijing verbal autopsy (VA) pilot

Dr Peng Yin from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention discusses the barriers to verbal autopsy in Beijing, VA data quality and next steps for implementation. Filmed in February 2018.

Short overview of CRVS in Ghana

This short video is an overview of CRVS in Ghana, and highlights videos that provide a more in-depth understanding of their system and improvements as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.

Inside Ghana's Birth and Death Registry archives

The University of Melbourne Data for Health CRVS technical team visit the Ghana Birth and Death Registry archives, that have been kept since 1910. With Ghana Birth and Death Registry's Sowada Abordo and Emmanuel Nortey Botchway.

Birth registration digitisation in Ghana

Vital event registration in Ghana is low, with birth registration at 57%. Nevertheless the country is moving to implement digitisation for birth registration records. Benjamin Clapham, Ghana's Project Officer, explains.

Process of death registration in Ghana's 37 Military Hospital

Joyce Djama Ampini-Tetteh, Chief Registration Officer from the 37 Military Hospital Registry in Accra, Ghana describes the process of death registration in hospitals.

Ghana Birth and Death Registry's commitment to improvement

The University of Melbourne Data for Health CRVS technical team visit Ghana's Birth and Death Registry's Reverend Kingsley Asare Addo (Principal Assistant Registrar) and Registrar John Yao Agbeko.

Ghana Statistical Service: Improving systems, registration and sustainability

Anthony Amuzu and Stephen K. Amoah from the Ghana Statistical Service outline recent efforts to mobilise birth and death registration, digitisation, the issues with population registers and their commitment to integrated systems.

Barriers to death notification (Ghana)

Interview with Francis Yeji, Research Officer at the Ghana Health Service and Fellow at the University of Melbourne's Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.

Increasing verbal autopsy supervision from afar

Patrick Larbi-Debrah, Health Information Officer from Ghana Health Service and University of Melbourne Data for Health Fellow describes how the new verbal autopsy dashboard for supervisors allows for greater visibility to monitor rural verbal autopsy work from central offices. Read more about the dashboard in our resource: https://crvsgateway.info/file/5171/1829

How Ghana revolutionised their CRVS system using process mapping

Interview with Professor Don de Savigny from the Data for Health Innovations Hub and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute about how Ghana has been able to undertake process mapping to document the entire 'as is' and 'as desired' civil registration and vital statistics processes and the effect process mapping has had.

Tanzania's commitment to improved civil registration and vital statistics

This short video is an overview of CRVS in Tanzania, and highlights videos that provide a more in-depth understanding of their system and improvements as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.

Tanzanian Ministry of Health perspective: How is Data for Health doing?

Edward Mbanga, Ag. Director for Policy and Planning at Tanzania's Ministry of Health, Community Development, Elderly and Children agency describes the successes so far of improving health information and its use as a result of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.

Improving our understanding of births and deaths in Tanzania

RITA, the agency responsible for birth and death registration in Tanzania shares their progress on their legal and regulatory review, decentralisation of birth and death registration, system sustainability and use of technology.

Challenges to timely and sensitive death certification in Tanzania

Godfrey M Semu, Health Record and Information Officer at the Muhimbili National Hospital describes the challenges to timely death certification in Tanzania.

Educating Tanzanian physicians on the value of accurate assignments for underlying cause of death

Godfrey M Semu, Health Record and Information Officer at the Muhimbili National Hospital explains how the hospital is rolling out medical certification of death training.

The Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative in Sri Lanka

Video with Technical Director of the Data for Health Initiative at the University of Melbourne, Professor Alan Lopez on Sri Lanka's work to improve civil registration and vital statistics.

SmartVA DHIS2 Integration | Sri Lanka (e-SmartVA)

Video by Dr Chamika Senanayake (Sri Lanka). More info: https://crvsgateway.info/SmartVA-DHIS2-Integration-Sri-Lanka-e-SmartVA-~2402

Importing WHO 2016 aggregate data into SmartVA

If you collect data using WHO 2016, this video will show you how to use SmartVA to analyse and assign the probable cause of death. It's easy, Roger Ward, Data Systems Analyst from the University of Melbourne's Data for Health Initiative explains.

Verbal autopsy: from research to field

How did verbal autopsy (VA) work evolve from research settings? Riley Hazard, University of Melbourne Research Assistant, shares a brief overview of how verbal autopsy has continued to evolve as a result of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative. More on SmartVA: crvsgateway.info/SmartVA~547

Filipino Ministry of Health: Ways to improve death certification

Dr Ferchito L Avelino, Officer in Charge at the Philippine Department of Health, Epidemiology Bureau shares his previous experience as a Rural Health Physician and the challenges he experienced certifying deaths, at the Smart Verbal Autopsy Evaluation Workshop in Manila, February 2018.

Progresos de RCEV en Ecuador (visión general)

Ecuador ha demostrado su compromiso con la mejora de los registros civil y de las estadísticas vitales (RCEV) a pesar de tener recursos limitados y esfuerzos duplicados en la producción de estadísticas vitales. Este breve video es una descripción general de CRVS en el país, y destaca los videos que proporcionan una comprensión más profunda de su sistema y mejoras como parte de la Iniciativa de Datos para la Salud de Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC)

Reunirse con Mr Mgs Roberto Castillo Añazco, Director Ejecutivo, Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo; Juan Cortez-Escalante, Coordinador de Pais, Datos para la Iniciativa de Salud; Profesor Alan Lopez, Director, Iniciativa de Datos para la Salud, Universidad de Melbourne; Profesor Deirdre McLaughlin, Subdirector, Iniciativa de Datos para la Salud, Universidad de Melbourne. Filmado en Septiembre de 2018 en Quito, Ecuador. Meeting with Mr Mgs Roberto Castillo Añazco, Executive Director, National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC); Juan Cortez-Escalante, Country Coordinator, Data for Health Initiative; Professor Alan Lopez, Director, Data for Health Initiative, University of Melbourne; Professor Deirdre McLaughlin, Deputy Director, Data for Health Initiative, University of Melbourne. Filmed in September 2018 in Quito, Ecuador. Video in Spanish with English subtitles.

Mejora de la información de mortalidad útil en Ecuador / Improving usable mortality information in Ecuador

Entrevista con Dr. Caterina Yepes, Coordinadora de Campo Proyecto de Causas de Mortalidad Poco Útiles, Iniciativa de Datos para la Salud. Interview with Dr Caterina Yepes, Field Coordinator of the Garbage Codes Project, Data for Health Initiative. Filmed in September 2018. Video in Spanish with English subtitles.

Haciendo visibles las poblaciones invisibles / Making ‘invisible’ populations visible

Entrevista con Soledad Carrera, Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC) y Juan Cortez-Escalante, Asesor Técnico en RCEV por la Universidad de Melbourne. Interview with Soledad Carrera, National Institute of Statistics and Census (Ecuador) and Juan Cortez-Escalante, CRVS Technical Advisor, University of Melbourne. Video in Spanish with English subtitles.

Implementación de autopsias verbales en Ecuador / Verbal autopsy intervention in Ecuador

Entrevista con Mónica García-Pérez, Coordinadora de Campo Proyecto de Autopsias Verbales, Iniciativa de Datos para la Salud. Interview with Mónica García-Pérez, Field Coordinator, Verbal Autopsy Project, Data for Health Initiative. Video in Spanish with English subtitles.

Melhorando os códigos do 'lixo' do Brasil / Improving Brazil's 'garbage' codes

Raquel Barbosa from the Ministry of Health in Brazil, and Fellow at the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative in University of Melbourne, explains how the country is working to improve the 33% percent of 'garbage', or unusable, for the purposes of public health planning. Video in Portuguese with English subtitles.

Creating accurate mortality information across China

Since 2017, the China CDC has cooperated with Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health to conduct a SmartVA (Smart Verbal Autopsy) pre-test in order to test whether the intervention was suitable for implementation in China. Assistant Professor Xin Ying Zeng from China CDC and Dr Hang Li, Technical Advisor at the University of Melbourne discuss how well SmartVA captures underlying cause of death for people who died at home.

Medindo a integralidade: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística / Measuring completeness: Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics

Deaths that occur outside of health facilities in Brazil are not necessarily recorded in all the databases that they should be, which makes the development of health policies and plans difficult. Dr Antonio Tadeu Ribeiro de Oliveira, Researcher at the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) shares how linking systems will improve the country's understanding of mortality patterns. Filmed at the meeting on strengthening the quality of information on causes of death in Brazil in October 2017.

La historia de cambio del Perú (conferencia)

Conferencia con el Profesor Alan Lopez, Director de la Iniciativa Datos para la Salud. Filmado en Lima, Perú, en Septiembre de 2018.

How enterprise architecture has improved CRVS in Bangladesh

Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor for the Access to Information Programme (a2i) at the Prime Minister's Office in Bangladesh, and National Advisor to the CRVS Steering Committee, Cabinet Division explains how the country improved registration through enterprise architecture.

Why do we need data?

Why Data for Health? For more information on the initiative visit: www.crvsgateway.info/aboutus Interviews with Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health staff: -Laureate Professor Alan Lopez, Technical Director, University of Melbourne -Carla AbouZahr, Senior Technical Adviser, University of Melbourne -Dr Lene Mikkelsen, Senior Technical Adviser, University of Melbourne -Professor Don deSavigny, Chief Technical Collaborator, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute

Innovation collaboration with Swiss TPH

Building momentum

What are people dying of in Greenland and why?

Greenland's cause of death data have only recently been separated from Denmark in the Global Burden of Disease Study. University of Melbourne Data for Health Initiative visiting academic Kim Moesgaard Iburg is Associate Professor at Aarhus University in Denmark, he is studying how the quality of these data can be improved to further benefit the direction of health policy in the country.

Outcomes of improving death data in Solomon Islands

Strengthening CRVS in Solomon Islands is a challenge because data, especially death data, have never been collected before in an organised manner. Only two percent of all estimated deaths are registered in the country. Dilip Hensman, Technical Officer, World Health Organization explains. Watch Dilip describe the barriers to death notification in the Solomon Islands: https://youtu.be/9F4ntk7xtCk

Short overview of CRVS progress in Ecuador

Ecuador has demonstrated its commitment to civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) improvement in spite of the country’s limited resources and duplicative efforts in the production of vital statistics. This short video is an overview of CRVS in the country, and highlights videos that provide a more in-depth understanding of their system and improvements as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.

El uso de la tecnología en el monitoreo de tendencias de mortalidad / How Peru uses technology to track mortality trends

Entrevista con Dr Rosario Kiyohara Okamoto, Directora General Hospital Nacional Dos de Mayo, Ministerio de Salud CEO. Filmado en Septiembre de 2018 en Lima, Perú. Interview with Dr Rosario Kiyohara Okamoto, CEO, National Hospital Dos de Mayo, Ministry of Health. Filmed in September 2018 in Lima, Peru. Video in Spanish with English subtitles.

Usando Telesalud para cubrir areas de dificil acceso en Peru / Using Telehealth to cover Peru's hard-to-reach areas

Entrevista con Dr Leonardo Rojas Mezarina, Asesor Técnico Unidad de Telesalud, Universidad Nacional Mayor. Filmado en Septiembre de 2018 en Lima, Perú. Interview with Dr Leonardo Rojas Mezarina, Mayor Technical Advisor Telehealth Unit, National University of San Marcos. Filmed in September 2018 in Lima, Peru. Video in Spanish with English subtitles.

Resultados de la iniciativa / Results of the initiative

Entrevista con Lic Gladys Garro, Directora de la Oficina Ejecutiva de Gestión de la Información, Oficina General de Tecnologías de la Información (OGTI), Ministerio de Salud. Filmado en Septiembre de 2018 en Lima, Perú. Interview with Lic Gladys Garro, Director of the Executive Office of Information Management, General Office of Information Technologies (OGTI), Ministry of Health. Filmed in September 2018 in Lima, Peru. Video in Spanish with English subtitles.

Peru's story of CRVS change (lecture)

Lecture with Professor Alan Lopez, Director of the Data for Health Initiative. Filmed in Lima, Peru in September 2018.

CRVS progress in Peru

Peru has demonstrated its commitment to civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) improvement in spite of the country’s limited resources and duplicative efforts in the production of vital statistics. This short video is an overview of CRVS in the country, and highlights videos that provide a more in-depth understanding of their system and improvements as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.

Avances de RECV en el Perú

Perú ha demostrado su compromiso con la mejora de los registros civil y de las estadísticas vitales (RCEV) a pesar de tener recursos limitados y esfuerzos duplicados en la producción de estadísticas vitales. Este breve video es una descripción general de CRVS en el país, y destaca los videos que proporcionan una comprensión más profunda de su sistema y mejoras como parte de la Iniciativa de Datos para la Salud de Bloomberg Philanthropies.

El rol del Instituto de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses en la certificación de muerte / Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science's role in death certification

Reunirse con with Dr Andres Eduardo Castro Flores, Médico legista, Instituto de Medicina Legal de Lima, Ministerio Público; Javier Vargas, Coordinador de País, Iniciativa de Datos para la Salud; Dr Judith Angelica Maguiña Romero, Médico legista, Instituto de Medicina Legal de Lima, Ministerio Público. Filmado en Lima, Perú, en Septiembre de 2018. Meeting with Dr Andres Eduardo Castro Flores, Medical Examiner, Institute of Legal Medicine of Lima, Public Ministry; Javier Vargas, Country Coordinator, Data for Health Initiative, Dr Judith Angelica Maguiña Romero, Medical Examiner, Institute of Legal Medicine of Lima Public Ministry. Filmed in Lima, Peru in September 2018. Spanish video with English subtitles.

Understanding patterns of mortality in Papua New Guinea

Since 2014, there have been substantial investments in strengthening Papua New Guinea’s civil registration and vital statistics system. However challenges still remain, especially around the integration of mortality surveillance systems. Interview with John Hart, Technical Advisor, University of Melbourne, Dr Viola Kwa, Country Coordinator, filmed in Melbourne, Australia on December 2018.

Better data = Better health for Papua New Guineans

Charlotte Polly, Statistician for Hospitals, National Department of Health and Ila Rouka, Technical Advisor, National Health Information Systems describe why about 85 percent of Papua New Guinean deaths are unreported and how the country is working to change that.

Ligação do registo civil e estatísticas vitais no Brasil para estimar a integridade / Linkage of civil registry and vital statistics in Brazil to estimate completeness

Marli Montenegro, Health situation analyst at Brazil's Ministry of Health and Fellow at the University of Melbourne Data for Health Initiative describes her University of Melbourne fellowship work to link the civil registry and vital statistics in Brazil to estimate completeness. Video in Portuguese with English subtitles.

Mejora de los registros de evento vital: Santander, Colombia / Improving vital event records: Santander, Colombia

Entrevista con Alexander Torres, Téchnico de Estadísticas Vitales, Secretaría de Salud, Departamento del Santander. Filmado en Septiembre de 2017 en Bogotá, Colombia. Interview with Alexander Torres, Vital Statistics Officer, Department of Health, Department of Santander, Colombia. Filmed in September 2017 in Bogota, Colombia. Video in Spanish with English subtitles.

The state of civil registration in Colombia / El estado del registro civil en Colombia

Entrevista con Dr Luis Fernando Criales, Secretario Adjunto, Oficina Nacional del Registro Civil, Colombia. Filmado en Septiembre de 2017 en Bogotá, Colombia. Interview with Dr Luis Fernando Criales, Deputy Registrar, National Civil Registry Office, Colombia. Filmed in September 2017 in Bogota, Colombia. Video in Spanish with English subtitles.

Construyendo estadísticas sólidas en Colombia / Building strong statistics in Colombia

Entrevista con Mauricio Perfetti del Corral, Director, Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE). Filmado en Septiembre de 2017 en Bogotá, Colombia. Interview with Mauricio Perfetti del Corral, Director, National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). Filmed in September 2017 in Bogota, Colombia. Video in Spanish with English subtitles.

Mejora de la información de mortalidad útil en Colombia / Improving usable mortality information in Colombia

Entrevista con Duban Quintero, Coordinador Vigilancia Salud Publica, Secretaria Departamento de Salud del Cauca, Colombia y Margarita Ronderos, Asesor Tecnico, Datos para Iniciativa de Salud. Filmado en Diciembre de 2018 en Melbourne, Australia. Interview with Duban Quintero, Monitoring Coordinator Public Health, Department Secretary of Cauca and Margarita Ronderos, Technical Advisor, Data for Health Initiative. Filmed in September 2017 in Bogota, Colombia. Video in Spanish with English subtitles.

Reportes de datos de mortalidad en comunidades indígenas y muertes violentas en Arauca, Colombia / Reporting mortality data for indigenous communities and violent deaths in Arauca, Colombia

Entrevista con Fabio Leonardo Bello Saavedra, Téchnico de Estadísticas Vitales, Secretaría de Salud, Departamento del Arauca. Filmado en Septiembre de 2017 en Bogotá, Colombia. Interview with Fabio Leonardo Bello Saavedra-Vital Statistics Technician, Department of Health, Department of Arauca. Filmed in September 2017 in Bogota, Colombia. Video in Spanish with English subtitles.

Encontrar datos de mortalidad perdidos en Magdalena, Colombia / Finding lost mortality data in Magdalena, Colombia

Entrevista con Bertha Lucia Bolano Piñedo, Oficial de Estadísticas Vitales, Secretaría de Salud, Departamento del Magdalena. Filmado en Septiembre de 2017 en Bogotá, Colombia. Interview with Bertha Lucia Bolano Piñedo, Vital Statistics Officer. Department of Health, Department of Magdalena. Filmed in September 2017 in Bogota, Colombia. Video in Spanish with English subtitles.

Progreso de RCEV en Colombia

Este breve video es una descripción general de RCEV en el país, y destaca los videos que proporcionan una comprensión más profunda de su sistema y mejoras como parte de la Iniciativa de Datos para la Salud de Bloomberg Philanthropies.

CRVS progress in Colombia

This short video is an overview of CRVS in the country, and highlights videos that provide a more in-depth understanding of their system and improvements as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.

CRVS progress in Myanmar

This short video is an overview of CRVS in the country, and highlights videos that provide a more in-depth understanding of their system and improvements as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.

Verbal autopsy: Myanmar's perspective

Interview with Dr Thuzar Chit Tin, Deputy Director General, Shan State Health Department. Filmed in July 2018 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

Measuring completeness of death registration in Myanmar

Interview with Tint Pa Pa Phyo, Statistical Officer, Central Statistical Organization and University of Melbourne Fellow. Filmed in July 2018 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

Bringing verbal autopsy methods to Myanmar

Interview with Sonja Firth, Technical Manager, Verbal autopsy, Myanmar, University of Melbourne Data for Health Initiative. Filmed in July 2018 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

6 C's of CRVS

Fully functional civil registration and vital statistics systems have important characteristics that make them effective.

Elevating the role of verbal autopsy into CRVS systems

Pioneer of the verbal autopsy method for determining the underlying cause of death in people who die outside of health settings, Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne and Technical Advisor for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative, Dr Ian Riley, describes how the method has evolved from his work in the 1970s examining the efficacy of the pneumococcal vaccine in Papua New Guinea into large-scale implementation to improve civil registration and vital statistics in Bangladesh, China, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

SmartVA on one device

Roger Ward, Data Systems Analyst from the University of Melbourne explains how to use SmartVA on a single device. More information on automated verbal autopsy (including WHO 2016 and SmartVA), visit: https://crvsgateway.info/Automated-VA~557

Linking civil registration and vital statistics data in Brazil to estimate completeness

Luiz Fernando from the IBGE (Brazilian Federal Institute of Geography and Statistics) and Fellow at the University of Melbourne Data for Health Initiative explains his work to link civil registration and vital statistics data in Brazil to estimate completeness.

Ecuador: Estimating completeness of death registration at the national and subnational level

Jose Andrade from the National Statistical Office in Ecuador and Fellow at the University of Melbourne Data for Health Initiative explains his work to estimate the completeness of death registration at the national and subnational levels.

SmartVA/DHIS2 Integration in Sri Lanka

Dr Chamika Senanyake from the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine in Sri Lanka and Fellow at the University of Melbourne Data for Health Initiative explains his work integrating Smart Verbal Autopsy (SmartVA) and DHIS-2 in Sri Lanka. Dr Senanyake has created a tutorial video about integration that you can view here: https://youtu.be/E66tnNV2rko

Estimating completeness of death registration and assessing quality of cause of death data

Marjorie Villaver from the Philippine Statistics Authority explains her work to estimate completeness of death registration and assess the quality of cause of death data at the national and subnational levels.

Up-skilling Filipino physicians in underlying cause of death diagnoses

There are many challenges to death registration and certification in the Philippines including a gap in training physicians to correctly certify the underlying cause of death in medical school. Three doctors in the Philippines share how their organisations are working to improve the quality of death certification through the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.

Timelier death data in the Philippines

Edith Ramos Orcilla, Assistant National Statistician and Aurora T Reolalas, Chief Statistical Specialist at the Philippine Statistical Authority share how the has been able to drastically improve the speed of which they report their cause of death data, which is vital for health policymaking and planning.

Application of SmartVA in the Philippines

Historically, determining the underlying cause of death for people who die in community has been “pretty hard,” says Dr Clemencia Dilag Bondol, President of the Municipal Association of Municipal Health Officers. But now that municipal health officers and physicians in community settings are using SmartVA as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative to diagnose deaths, the process has become much more simple.

SmartVA rollout in the Philippines

For the first time, SmartVA is being used by physicians, to diagnose the underlying cause of death in community settings. Verbal autopsy expert, Associate Professor Rohina Joshi from the University of Melbourne explains.

SINADEF: Video demostrativo completo

Video subido con permiso del Ministerio de Salud, Perú.

SINADEF: Video tutorial

Video subido con permiso del Ministerio de Salud, Perú.

SINADEF: Introducción

Video subido con permiso del Ministerio de Salud, Perú.

CRVS progress in the Philippines

The Philippines has shown ongoing commitment to strengthening its civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system. It is a relatively mature and functioning system, but there are many aspects that could function better if they were strengthened. In-depth videos at:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQfUxrZQ_vdgiO2kaiSlOi2XvaoIcVe7u

The Philippines: A story of CRVS change

What was the civil registration and vital statistics system in the Philippines like before the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative started, and what impact has the initiative had? Interview with Lene Mikkelsen, Senior Technical Advisor to the Philippines from the University of Melbourne, Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.

Short overview of CRVS progress in Ecuador

Ecuador has demonstrated its commitment to civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) improvement in spite of the country’s limited resources and duplicative efforts in the production of vital statistics. This short video is an overview of CRVS in the country, and highlights videos that provide a more in-depth understanding of their system and improvements as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.

What is civil registration?

Civil registration is the system by which a government records vital events such as births, deaths and marriages.

Trabalhando juntos para melhor informação em saúde / Working together for better health information

Dr Fatimo Marinho from Brazil's Ministry of Health explains why countries need to help one another to improve health systems and information. Filmed at the meeting on strengthening the quality of information on causes of death in Brazil in October 2017. Filmed in Portuguese with English subtitles. O Dr. Fatimo Marinho, do Ministério da Saúde do Brasil, explica por que os países precisam se ajudar mutuamente para melhorar os sistemas e informações de saúde. Filmado na reunião sobre fortalecimento da qualidade das informações sobre causas de morte no Brasil em Outubro de 2017.

Working together to find Bangladesh's top causes of death

Before Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative launched in Bangladesh, there was very little information on who was dying of what, which is needed to guide public health policies and plans. Interview with Dr Toufiq Shawon, Resident Medical Officer, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Dr Hafiz Chowdhury, Technical Advisor, Sri Lanka, University of Melbourne; Dr Razi Uddin, Assistant Chief Statistical Officer; Management Information System; Directorate General of Health Services. Filmed in Melbourne Australia in December 2018.

Myanmar's CRVS political commitments

Previously Myanmar's health policies and planning were "wrong," said Union Minister of the Ministry of Health and Sports, Dr Myint Htwe. Now, Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative has enabled Myanmar to generate reliable evidence about who is dying of what in the country to better inform disease prevention policy. In July 2018 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar at the High Level Technical Review Meeting, Dr Myint Htwe spoke about the country's commitments to the sustainability of civil registration and vital statistics improvements.

From research to the field: Implementing verbal autopsy in Myanmar

The Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health (D4H) Initiative is assisting the Government of Myanmar to improve the capture and transmission of cause of death data – especially data on rural deaths – to improve the overall quality and completeness of mortality statistics. Myanmar’s CRVS improvement efforts centre around making full use of the existing midwifery system, improving on aspects of the birth and death reporting process. As part of D4H, Myanmar has begun training midwives to perform verbal autopsies, or VAs, using digital tablets. These interview were filmed in Myanmar in July 2018 in Burmese (English subtitles).

Chegando à causa da morte: Serviço de Investigação de Falecimento / Arriving at a cause of death: Death Investigation Service

O professor Luiz Fernando Ferraz da Silva, da Universidade de São Paulo, explica como o serviço de inspeção post-mortem no Brasil determina a causa básica de morte. Filmado na reunião sobre fortalecimento da qualidade das informações sobre causas de morte no Brasil em outubro de 2017. Vídeo em português com legendas em inglês. Professor Luiz Fernando Ferraz da Silva from the University of São Paulo explains how the post-mortem inspection service in Brazil determines the underlying cause of death. Filmed at the meeting on strengthening the quality of information on causes of death in Brazil in October 2017. Video in Portuguese with English subtitles.

Zambia's CRVS system to improve using Japan's lessons

Birth and death registration rates in Zambia are very low, which is a big problem for health prioritisation and planning says Dr Yuta Yokobori, who works with both the Japanese and Zambian health systems. Dr Yokobori shares some of Zambia's plans to improve their birth and death information.

Sri Lankan app puts death certification in doctors' hands

To improve the underlying cause of death diagnosis for death certification, Sri Lanka has created a mobile app that new doctors can use to learn the importance of this diagnosis and provide easy reference.

Improving the quality of mortality information in Sri Lanka

While the completeness of death registration is over 95% in Sri Lanka, the quality of the cause of death certification is poor, which is key for health policy and planning. About 42% of Sri Lankan deaths occur in the home, so to capture cause of death, local midwives are adding this data collection using tablets and family interviews to their list of regular duties. Interview with Lene Mikkelsen, Technical Advisor, University of Melbourne; Dr Lakshmi Somatunga, Additional Secretary/Public Health Services, Ministry of Health; Sathasivam Sridharan, Deputy Director-General of Health Services, Management Development and Planning Unit of the Ministry of Health; Dr Vindya Kumarapeli, Research Fellow, University of Melbourne at the University of Melbourne in December 2018.

Transforming cause of death data in the Solomon Islands

Before 2010, the Solomon Islands had no birth, death and cause of death information on which to base their health policies and plans. Now through the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative, the country can act on pressing health issues like non-communicable diseases which they only could guess were issues before. Interview with Matt Reeve, Technical Advisor, University of Melbourne; Seraphina Elisha, Principal Medical Statistician; Rodley Ruskin, CRVS Country Coordinator in December 2018 in Melbourne, Australia.

Summary: A new method for estimating the completeness of death registration

Explains a new method to estimate the completeness of death registration using widely available country data.

Estimating the completeness of death registration: An empirical method

Many national and subnational governments need to routinely measure the completeness of death registration for monitoring and statistical purposes. Existing methods, such as death distribution and capture-recapture methods, have a number of limitations such as inaccuracy and complexity that prevent widespread application. This paper presents a novel empirical method to estimate completeness of death registration at the national and subnational level.

Where there is no physician: Improving the notification of community deaths

This paper highlights the importance of community death notification, and provides checklists for countries seeking to audit and improve internal notification of community deaths. Results from applying these checklists as part of a broader process mapping exercise with 16 countries will also be discussed, which influenced the development of seven general guiding principles for the development of death notification forms. These resources are meant to aid countries and their CRVS partners as they move towards improving notification and registration of community deaths, particularly when considering universal digital notification-registration where there is no physician.

Improving vital statistics for informed policy: The importance of data quality

Outlines the importance of quality, and simple procedures for checking data quality from collection to analysis.

Reducing barriers to the accurate medical certification of cause of death

This document identifies barriers to accurate COD reporting by physicians and provides recommendations on how various actors can respond.

Strengthening CRVS systems through effective legislation

This paper explains how legal frameworks can contribute to the completeness of birth and death registration, and improve the accuracy of information held in national and subnational civil records. This paper also highlights some of the common issues with existing civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) laws in many countries, and the importance for governments and CRVS stakeholders to conduct a comprehensive legal review. General recommendations on the steps and strategies countries should use for conducting a legal review on existing CRVS-related laws are provided.

Strategies for improving the quality of cause of death data in hospitals

This paper outlines the importance of accurate medical certification of cause of death, and provides eight strategies that hospitals can implement to improve the accuracy and consistency of cause of death data drawn from medical records.

Understanding CRVS systems: The importance of process mapping

Explains how enterprise architecture and its process mapping methodology can be used to describe and improve CRVS systems.

Challenges associated with automated VA training and rollout

This paper is a useful resource for countries looking to implement automated VA on a digital tablet or smartphone.

Training and education on medical certification: Effective strategies and approaches

This document outlines a best-practice plan for the timing and content of education and training on medical certification for physicians at three career stages.

Integrating community-based verbal autopsy into CRVS: System-level considerations

This document provides recommendations for integrating VA processes into CRVS, which involves consideration of system-wide integration issues.

Introducing verbal autopsies into CRVS: Guiding principles

This document details the merits of automated VA methods and provides guidance for countries looking to implement VA in CRVS systems.

The 'Ten CRVS Milestones' framework for understanding CRVS systems

Describes how CRVS systems function, including key processes that must be accomplished. Provides an understanding of system strengths and weaknesses.

Guidance for assessing and interpreting the quality of mortality data using ANACONDA – Chinese version

For users of ANACONDA (statisticians and/or analysts in health and statistics departments, researchers, or other experts working with mortality data).

Guidance for assessing and interpreting the quality of mortality data using ANACONDA

For users of ANACONDA (statisticians and/or analysts in health and statistics departments, researchers, or other experts working with mortality data).

Handbook for doctors on cause of death certification

These are generic guidelines about how to certify the cause of death, written for physicians and medical students, particularly in developing countries.

Medical certification of cause of death: Quick reference guide

This guide contains basic information about how to correctly complete the International Form of medical certificate of COD, as recommended by the WHO.

SmartVA: Interviewer's manual

The information contained in this manual provides generic information to intended VA interviewers on how to conduct VA interviews systematically.

SmartVA: Technical user guide

The information contained in this manual provides generic information to technical support personnel for the implementation of automated VA methods.

ANACONDA Quick reference guide: 10 steps

Summarises the 10 main steps in ANACONDA, including key outputs and data quality checks for mortality and cause of death statistics.

Assessing the quality of death certificates: Guidance for the rapid tool

This document provides guidance on how to use the rapid assessment tool. Information generated from the assessment would be helpful for ministry of health staff, hospital administrators, health information officers or medical record officers to determine the quality of death certificates. The tool can be used by a doctor who is trained in death certification practices and understands the ICD-10 death certification rules.

Assessing the quality of death certificates: Rapid tool

This tool is designed to assess the quality of death certification practices by checking for common errors in death certificates.

CRVS birth and death statistics report template

This template has been designed to ensure that useful data on birth and death will become available for policy through annual reporting.

Guía para evaluar e interpretar la calidad de los datos de mortalidad utilizando: ANACONDA

El documento es para usuarios de ANACONDA, una herramienta electrónica para el control de calidad de los datos de mortalidad.

Papua New Guinea: Targeted interventions for sustainable change

Outlines the strategy for strengthening the CRVS system, which is based on three pillars: leadership, integration, and capacity-building.

Peru: An exceptional example of CRVS system advancement

This document highlights the major interventions being implemented in Peru as part of the country's CRVS systems-strengthening agenda.

Bangladesh: A successful journey towards CRVS system improvement

This CRVS country perspective highlights three successful technical interventions implemented by the Government of Bangladesh and its civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) stakeholders to strengthen the country’s CRVS system

Summary: Integrating verbal autopsies into CRVS systems

This document details how to sustainably integrate verbal autopsy into CRVS systems.

Research priorities for country CRVS strengthening

This document outlines six of focus areas for countries in need of CRVS research.

Civil registration and identification

Civil registration should be the basis of any national identification system, and must be strengthened before new systems are put in place.

Improving registration: Best practice guidelines

Examples of best practice for registration include making it a legal requirement to register, and not charging a fee for initial registration.

Summary: Improving vital statistics for informed policy

Briefly explains the importance of data quality assessments and basic data quality checks to perform

Summary: The importance of routinely measuring birth and death registration completeness

Highlights the importance of measuring registration completeness and the impact it has on fertility and mortality statistics.

Summary: CRVS systems are good for your health

This document highlights how countries that invest in CRVS strengthening will see improved population health outcomes.

Action guide on CRVS legal and regulatory reviews

This document highlights five suggested steps countries should follow for conducting a legal review on CRVS law.

Action guide on implementing automated coding (Iris)

Describes five key steps countries should follow when implementing automated mortality coding.

Action guide on improving the quality of COD data in hospitals

Provides eight key action areas to improve the quality of cause of death data in hospitals.

Action guide on process mapping for CRVS systems

Outlines the four key steps in process mapping and explains how they can be used to strengthen CRVS system design.

Action guide on reducing barriers to medical certification

Describes five actions that can be taken to reduce barriers to accurate medical certification of cause of death, from legislative review to training and support.

CRVS systems need well-functioning civil registry offices

Presentation of factors which countries should consider when establishing or improving the operation of their Office of the Civil Registrar.

Intervention: Medical certification of cause of death

Activities to improve certification include introducing the international form of medical certificate of cause of death and training courses.

Intervention: Mortality coding

Transformation of information on death certificates into alpha-numeric codes, for easier analysis of the patterns of mortality in a population.

Intervention: Automated verbal autopsy

The automated process of using handheld devices for all verbal autopsy activities.

Intervention: Enterprise architecture and process mapping

A tool that that helps describe, understand, analyse, compare and visualise the organisation, processes, workflows and functionality of a CRVS system.

Advocating for civil registration: guide to developing a business case for civil registration

Practical information on the six-step approach to preparing and using a business case in support of a civil registration system.

An economic evaluation of data collection methods for vital statistics

A systematic framework to guide investment decisions by donors and governments on methods of data collection for vital statistics.

Assessing the production, quality and use of national vital statistics: a case study of the Philippines

Findings from the review of the CRVS system in the Philippines (2009), which helped to understand how the system worked and identifying weaker areas.

Improving civil registration and vital statistics systems - Lessons learned from the application of health information tools in Asia and the Pacific

A review of the application of the comprehensive CRVS assessment tool in Asia and the Pacific.

Improving COD certification practices in the Pacific

Findings of study to determine the efficacy and accessibility of the certification module of the WHO's web-based ICD training tool.

Promoting the periodic assessment of the quality of medical records and cause-of-death data

A rare look into the validation of cause of death information from routine reporting systems.

Rapid assessment of vital statistics systems

Evaluation of the application of the WHO/Health Information Systems Knowledge Hub tool in 26 countries in the Asia–Pacific region.

Strategic planning to strengthen civil registration and vital statistics systems

Guidance for using findings from a comprehensive assessment.

Symptom recall and the diagnostic accuracy of verbal autopsies

Determines how recall of item responses varied between interviews over time and how much loss of recall affected the accuracy of CSMFs.

CRVS country overview: Bangladesh

CRVS country overview: Brazil

CRVS country overview: China (Shanghai)

CRVS country overview: Colombia

CRVS country overview: Ecuador

CRVS country overview: Ghana

CRVS country overview: Myanmar

CRVS country overview: Papua New Guinea

CRVS country overview: Philippines

CRVS country overview: Rwanda

CRVS country overview: Solomon Islands

CRVS country overview: Sri Lanka

CRVS country overview: Tanzania

Course prospectus: ANACONDA

Course prospectus: Estimating completeness of birth and death registration

Course prospectus: CRVS data analysis and use

Course prospectus: Enterprise architecture and process mapping for strengthening CRVS design

Course prospectus: ICD-10 mortality coder training

Course prospectus: Iris automated mortality coding training

Course prospectus: Capacity development and medical certification of cause of death training

Course prospectus: SmartVA

Course prospectus: Verbal autopsy costing and budgeting tool

Redefining 'garbage codes' for public health policy: Report on the expert group meeting

Describes the new classification of 'unusable codes' that cause most harm, allowing countries to design targeted interventions for improvement.

A framework for evaluating national CRVS systems at baseline

Describes the baseline evaluation framework developed for BD4H, which delivers a concise and up-to-date 'actionable' evaluation of a CRVS system.

How do I setup Samsung Galaxy tablets?

This SmartVA IT action guide will show you you how to set up your Samsung Galaxy tablet for SmartVA, including installing the necessary apps for collecting verbal autopsy data.

How do I translate the SmartVA instrument?

This SmartVA IT action guide describes how to translate the SmartVA instrument (Excel questionnaire and media files) into a different language for use through the Open Data Kit (ODK) platform.

How do I download and install ODK Collect?

This SmartVA IT action guide describes how to install ODK Collect onto a tablet in two ways: directly onto a tablet via the ‘Play Store’ or Internet browser, or from a computer via the Internet and copying it across to the tablet for installation

Fellowship profile: Assessing the quality of mortality statistics in Shanghai

In 2017, Dr Tan Ziwen came to the University to learn about how to routinely assess the quality of vital statistics data using ANACONDA.

CRVS country overview: Peru

Summary: Improving the quality of mortality statistics in Sri Lanka

Describes the two innovative approaches Sri Lanka is taking to improve the quality of mortality data: introducing automated verbal autopsy, and up-skilling doctors in correct medical certification practices.

Summary: The CRVS baseline evaluation framework

Describes the four domains of the framework; an important tool that provides an actionable evaluation of a CRVS system.

Action guide on automated VA training and rollout

This action guide outlines seven key tasks and challenges countries should consider when implementing automated VA.

Fellowship profile: Country-specific adaptation of a SmartVA DHIS2 integration module for Sri Lanka

Between July and September 2018, Chamika Senanayake, from the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine came to the University of Melbourne to receive support in developing a SmartVA DHIS2 integration platform that would streamline all manual CRVS data flow processes into a single automated process in Sri Lanka.

Action guide on training and education on medical certification of cause of death

Outlines an approach to training and education on medical certification of cause of death based on three key stages in a physician's career: during medical school, as an intern or junior physician, and as senior practicing clinicians.

Fellowship profile: Investigating garbage codes to improve mortality statistics in Brazil

Between January and February 2018, Raquel Barbosa de Lima, from the Department of Health Situation Analysis, Ministry of Health, Brazil, came to the University of Melbourne to receive support in analysing data from a pilot study that investigated key attributes of deaths with ‘garbage codes’.

Summary: SDG achievement depends on CRVS systems

Well-functioning civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems will play an important role in assisting countries and regions to measure, monitor and meet their Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets. Strengthening of CRVS systems is an SDG outcome in and of itself; therefore, to fully achieve the SDG agenda, CRVS systems must be robust with near-complete registration of births and deaths.

Summary: Monitoring CRVS data quality and progress

Summarises key points from the Lancet series paper, which discussed results from a global assessment of CRVS systems, and the development of a composite index, the Vital Statistics Performance Index (VSPI) that can monitor data quality and progress over time.

Sri Lanka: Strengthening the quality and availability of mortality statistics

This paper outlines the strategy for improving the quality and availability of mortality statistics in Sri Lanka, which is built on two main pillars: improving the quality of medical certification of cause of death for facility deaths; and implementing automated verbal autopsy to ascertain probable cause of death for community deaths.

How can we accelerate progress on civil registration and vital statistics?

The first in a series of papers published by the WHO Bulletin looking at how the health sector can contribute towards strengthening CRVS systems and increasing birth and death registration coverage.

Civil registration and vital statistics in health systems

Over the past decades, the health sector has forged a widespread network of health facilities and community health workers who carry out key public health interventions, aiming to reach the most marginalized populations with life-saving interventions. In many countries, health networks offer untapped potential to leverage health services for the notification and registration of births and deaths.