The Global Health Advocacy Incubator supports the strengthening of civil registration, vital statistics and identity management (CRVSID) systems to ensure every birth and death is registered, and everybody is considered in policy planning. GHAI supports governments to help strengthen CRVSID systems through:
Civil registration is a system of officially recording peoples’ life events and the key information about those events, including births and deaths (and very importantly, causes of death), marriages and divorces.
Birth registration is the principal means of establishing a person’s legal identity which can be essential for accessing health care and education, ensuring protection from exploitation, enabling financial inclusion through bank accounts and the formal job market, and accessing civil rights.
Vital statistics uses civil registration records to generate the population and health data essential across all parts of government for planning and resource allocation, especially in public health through the cause of death information.
Identity management systems allow people to access essential services and financial inclusion and are critical for national security. Civil registration should be the foundation for any ID management system.
GHAI is an implementing partner of the Bloomberg Data for Health (D4H) Initiative, which works to strengthen and standardize data on births and deaths registration systems so that everyone, everywhere, is counted and governments can save and improve lives.
Where We Work
40% of deaths
go unregistered each year. 50% of the registered deaths have no reliable cause of death.
50% of women
in low-income countries have no way to prove their age or identity because they lack a birth certificate.
25% of children under 5
are not registered at birth, leaving 150 million children "invisible" without legal identity.
CRVSID Legal and Regulatory Review Toolkit
A systematic guide to analyzing a country’s CRVSID legal framework based on international guidance, standards and practice.
A Visual Guide to Civil Registration and Vital Statistics
A detailed visual exploration of the wide-ranging benefits of a well-functioning civil registration and vital statistics system has for individuals, governments and society.
CRVS Laws Database
A searchable repository of CRVS-related laws with comparative legal analysis across countries.
CRVS Legal E-learning Course
An interactive legal e-learning course with practical examples and resources available on our Health Advocacy Training and Collaboration Hub (HATCH).
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In Cambodia, a comprehensive new CRVSID law was adopted in July 2023 which we supported through legislative drafting.
In Côte d’Ivoire, GHAI partnered with the Ministry of Women, Family and Children to conduct a legal and policy assessment, which identified gaps in the women’s death registration legal framework. The findings informed targeted legal and administrative reforms to strengthen oversight, clarify the roles of civil registrars and health authorities and improve timely notification and registration of women’s death.
In India, GHAI worked with the state government of Rajasthan to implement Indian legislation that provides a process for transgender people to update their birth certificates, leading to the first such birth certificate being issued in India.
In Zambia, GHAI partnered with CSO MHAZ to advocate for increased funding for Civil Registration Services, leading to a reversal of a planned budget cut and securing a 67% budget increase instead, along with the formation of a dedicated CRVS caucus.
Legal Briefing
Issue Brief
Budget Sustainability
Global Program and Financial Compliance Officer
Associate Director of Communications, Health Systems Strengthening
Communications Manager
Associate Director of Legal Advocacy
Program Director
Regional Communications Advisor
Philippines Coordinator
Regional Advisor, Asia for Noncommunicable Diseases
Bangladesh Coordinator
Vice President, Health Systems Strengthening
Legal Associate
Country Director, Vietnam
Associate Director of Gender Advocacy
Cameroon Coordinator
Uganda Coordinator
Zambia Coordinator
Lynn Sferrazza, Global; Nayib Chalela, Colombia; Julien Dabire, Burkina Faso; Christian Monje, Bolivia; Hadijah Namyalo, Uganda; James Nombi, Kenya.
With budget advocacy support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), the Government of the Maldives has made a historic investment in the human and technical resources that support its national civil registration, vital statistics and identity management (CRVSID) systems.
March 6, 2026
February 4, 2026
February 3, 2026
