By George Ozalla
The Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Dr. Aminu Yusuf, on Wednesday launched the nationwide Digital Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) System at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, describing the initiative as a landmark intervention that will transform the registration of births and deaths across Nigeria and provide the country with accurate demographic data for national development.
Speaking at the official rollout of the digital platform, Dr. Yusuf said the Commission was committed to ensuring that every child born in Nigeria is registered and every death is properly documented, stressing that reliable civil registration is fundamental to effective governance and development planning.
He stated that, “Every child counts,” noting that birth registration gives every Nigerian a legal identity and serves as the gateway to accessing education, healthcare, social protection programmes and other government services.
The NPC Chairman further stated that Nigeria records about five million births every year, but a large number of them are not officially registered, a situation he said has continued to affect the country’s ability to generate reliable population statistics for planning and policy implementation.
He explained that the Digital Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System replaces the manual process with a modern electronic platform capable of capturing birth and death records in real time, thereby improving efficiency, accuracy, transparency and the security of official records.
Dr. Yusuf further stressed that the digital platform would significantly reduce delays associated with manual registration, eliminate duplication of records and make registration services more accessible to Nigerians living in rural and hard to reach communities.
He said the Commission has strengthened collaboration with state governments, local government councils, primary healthcare centres, hospitals, traditional institutions, religious organisations and development partners to ensure that birth and death registration services are available in every part of the country.
According to him, the success of the initiative depends on the active participation of parents, guardians, healthcare workers, community leaders and other stakeholders, urging them to ensure that births and deaths occurring within their communities are reported promptly for registration.
Dr. Yusuf said the digital registration system would provide government with credible and up to date statistics required for national planning, budgeting, public health interventions, educational development, security planning and the equitable distribution of social services.
He added that the initiative also supports the Federal Government’s digital transformation agenda by deploying technology to improve public service delivery while strengthening Nigeria’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics architecture in line with international best practices.
The NPC Chairman expressed confidence that the nationwide rollout would mark the beginning of a new era in civil registration in Nigeria, saying the Commission would continue to work with relevant stakeholders to expand registration coverage and ensure that every birth and every death occurring in the country is captured in the national database.
