Transcript WORKSHOP ON IMPROVEMENT OF CIVIL REGISTRATION AND VITAL STATISTICS 1 – 5 DEC, 2008 BLANTRE,MALAWI.

WORKSHOP ON
IMPROVEMENT OF CIVIL
REGISTRATION AND VITAL
STATISTICS
1 – 5 DEC, 2008 BLANTRE,MALAWI
ZANZIBAR CIVIL REGISTRATION
AND VITAL STATISTICS
SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION
•
The registrar general’s office is mandated with the
registration of vital events and issuance certificate
thereof (cap. 90 and 91 of 1953 law of zanzibar
The Registrar’s General Office (RGO) responsible for
vital registration
INTRODUCTION CONT…
On the other hand, the Office of the Chief
Government Statistician, (OCGS) is mandated by
Act no:9 of 1999 (Revised by Act No. 9 of 2007).
in which it is responsible for all official statistics in
Zanzibar
The Department for Social and Demographic Statistics
(DSSD) of OCGS is responsible, among others with
the compilation and analysis of demographic data.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Registrar’s General’s Office (RGO) is responsible
for civil registration

The Office of the Chief Government Statistician
(OCGS), responsible for population censuses,
demographic surveys, and other related population
statistics.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT…)
Population
activities and registration systems in
Zanzibar dates far back in the beginning of the twentieth
century.
The
births and deaths registration decree Caps 90; the
laws of Zanzibar is revised as Act no: 10 of 2006 and the
1936 marriage and divorce act (Caps 91; the laws of
Zanzibar) were last repealed in 1953.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT…)

Past efforts were made with UNDP support, through its
program of accelerating the improvement of vital
statistics and civil registration systems (1982 – 1987).

where the District Registrars’ Offices (DRO)and local
registrar were established.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT…)

Facilitation of registration and issuing certificates
thereof at district level marked improvement in
registration.

However, a number of logistics were not completed,
and incapacities (both financial and technical) of his
RGO left many activities unattended.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT…)
Vital
statistics was, and remain to be an unattended
activity.
In
1992/93 SIDA supported the RGO vital registration
process
Equipped
the district offices (with cupboards,
typewriters, transport equipment, etc.)
BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT…)
Also
providing training to Assistance Registrars (ADRs),
the local Registrar and health staff responsible for vital
events and ward leaders on how and when to register
events
The
program terminated with marked improvements in
registration (i.e. 75 percent of expected births and about
one-half of all expected deaths); but again, no modalities
were made in retrieving vital statistics.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT…)

In 2005 DFID through Strengthening Good
Governance aimed at improving record keeping and
data management practices, but these efforts were
terminated prematurely due to the financial problems
FUNCTIONS OF RGO

To carry out all registrations required under the
relevant laws and to enforce the laws and ensure
compliance thereof;

To maintain registers, index books, data and records
on registrations effected by the office and to act as a
clearing house for information and data on those
registrations;
FUNCTIONS OF RGO (CONT… )

To supervise, monitor and coordinate the performance
of district registrars so as to ensure compliance with
the set standards and guidelines and national plans
and policies;

To provide registrar, shehas, medical practitioners
with such book and forms as may required, and with
such instructions and directions, as he may consider
necessary for the registration of births and death in
their areas
CURRENT STATUS OF REGISTRATION

Simple procedures for reporting births and deaths
events where they occur (i.e. at home or at a health
facility) have been developed.
Each
individual’s event is recorded in a separate form.
CURRENT STATUS OF REGISTRATION(CONT…)

Statement of birth includes
Date of Birth,
Place of birth,
Characteristics of the mother ( age, occupation,
nationality, residence ),
characteristics of the father,
sex of the child,
kind of birth (single ,twins)
CURRENT STATUS OF REGISTRATION(CONT…)

Statement of the death are resemble with the
statement of birth but the statement of the death
include the particular of causes of death.

In addition, the size of Zanzibar Islands and the
number of local registration terminals (all district
hospitals and 303 of its administrative wards –
(shehia)) are sufficient enough to warrant full
registration of events.
CURRENT STATUS OF REGISTRATION (CONT…)
Filled-in forms from local registrars are sent to district
registrars, where legal registration is made and a
record kept in files (the original record is archived at
RGO).
 Certificates (of birth and death) with references of
registration are issued at request.

CURRENT STATUS OF REGISTRATION(CONT…)
But,
apart from adherence to core legal aspects
(issuance of certificates, authenticity and citizen
identification), nothing mentioned in the whole
registration system about vital statistics from those
registered events!
OBSTACLES
Lack
of fund for data processing particularly in
equipments such as computers for data processing in the
production of vital statistics.
Low
priorities of the government on the importance of
vital statistics.
OBSTACLE (CONT…)

Budget constraints
 Budget

is very low to certisfy the registration system
Poor coordination between registrar and the
chief statistician offices
 Both
are independent government institution but
operate separately.
OBSTACLE (CONT…)

Gap in the birth and death registration law in which the
responsible institution for vital registration has no
responsibility to compile, analyze, processing and
dissemination of vital statistic, the only responsibility is
registers, store files and production of vital certificates.
FUTURE PLANS IN IMPROVING CIVIL REGISTRATION AND
VITAL STATISTICS PRODUCTION
The
office of the chief government statistician
establish special vital statistics unit in the social
demographic section.
Strengthening
both RGO & OCGS in vital
registration and data processing in general.
PLANS IN IMPROVING CIVIL REGISTRATION AND VITAL
(CONT…)
Training
for local and district registrars will be
provided and also for RGO and OCGS staffs
Also dynamic website will be established
PLANS IN IMPROVING CIVIL REGISTRATION AND VITAL
STATISTICS PRODUCTION (CONT...)
•
•
Requesting fund from UNFPA in a three years
project for Strengthening both RGO & OCGS.
Though this project a Wide Area network (WAN)
and Local Area Network (LAN) will be established
.
THAN YOU FOR
YOUR ATTENTION