Regional Guideline
for the Preparation of National Vital Statistics Operation Manual
Contents of
Regional Guideline for the Preparation of National Vital Statistics Operation Manual
Preface
CHAPTER I Background...... 1
1.1. Introduction ...... 1
1.2 Historical Perspective and Current Status of Vital Statistics in Africa...... 2
a) Historical Perspective of Vital Statistics in Africa...... 2
b) Current Status of Vital Statistics in Africa...... 3
1.3 Regional Initiatives on Improving CRVS...... 4
a) APAI-CRVS...... 4
b) Regional Ministerial Forums...... 5
c) Regional Statistical Forums...... 6
1.4 Need for National Plan for Improving CRVS Systems...... 7
1.5 International StandardGuidelines ...... 8
1.6 The Regional Guideline for the Preparation of the National Vital Statistics
Operation Manual (RGPNVSOM)...... 9
a)Rational for the Preparation of RGPNVSOM...... 9
b)Objective of RGPNVSOM...... 9
c)Interface between the RGPNVSOM and InternationalGuidelines ...... 10
d)Structure of the RGPNVSOM...... 10
Chapter II Guideline for the Approaches in the Preparation of the
National Vital StatisticsOperation Manual (NVSOM)...... 12
2.1 Introduction...... 12
2.2Approaches to the Preparation of NVSOM...... 13
a)Assess the Status of CRVS in the country...... 13
b) Consult with all Organs, Individuals and Stakeholders...... 14
c) Define the Roles of Different Organizations...... 14
d) Establish a Technical Committee of Professionals...... 15
e)Define Concepts of the Contents of the Manual...... 16
f)Apply the Proposals in the RGPNVSOM in the given Order...... 17
g)Consult the UN Guidelines...... 17
h)Conduct Workshops on the Operation Manual...... 17
i)Train Registrars and other internal and external CRVS personnel...... 17
Chapter III Guideline for Legal Provision for VS System...... 18
3.1 Introduction ...... 18
3.2 Legal Provision for CRVS Systems...... 18
a) Legal Provision for VS System...... 19
b) Legal Provision for CR System...... 20
c) Interface between Legal Provision for CRVS Systems...... 20
Chapter IV Guideline for Organization, Administration and
Management Arrangement for VSSystem...... 22
4.1 Introduction...... 22
4.2 Organization of Vital Statistics System...... 22
a) National / Centralized System...... 22
b) Sub-national / decentralized system ...... 23
4.3 Administration of Vital Statistics System...... 24
4.4 Management of a Vital Statistics System...... 25
a) Training of Registrars...... 25
b) Training of Other VS Personnel...... 26
c) Training of Trainers...... 26
d) Methods of Training...... 26
e) Place of Training...... 27
f) Coordination between CRVS Systems ...... 27
g) Designation and Recruitment of VS personnel...... 28
4.5 Integration between Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems...... 29
a) Communication Linkage...... 29
b) Technical and Operational Linkage ...... 29
c) Cooperation, Partnership and Resource Sharing...... 30
d) Feedback between CRVS Systems...... 31
Chapter V Guideline for Selection of Vital Events for VS
Compilation and Uses of VS...... 32
5.1 Introduction...... 32
5.2 Selection of Vital Events for Vital Statistics Compilation...... 32
5.3 Definitions of Priority Vital Events ...... 33
5.4 Definitions of Complementary Vital Events ...... 34
5.5 Statistical Functions of Vital Events...... 35
5.6 Uses of Vital Statistics ...... 35
a) Uses to the Nation...... 35
b) Uses for Researchers ...... 36
c) Uses for Sub-national and Local Areas...... 36
d) International Uses ...... 37
e) Uses for Communities ...... 37
Chapter VI Guideline for Collection of Vital Events Data for
VS Compilation...... 38
6.1 Introduction...... 38
6.2 Components and Procedures for the Collection of VS data...... 38
a) The VS Report ...... 38
b)Format of VS Report...... 39
c)Interfaces between VS report and CR Record...... 39
d) The Registrar, His Duties and Responsibilities...... 40
d)The Local Registration Offices and Their Responsibilities...... 41
e)Topics and Themes of the VS Report ...... 41
i) Characteristics of the Events...... 42
ii) Geographic Characteristics of Persons Related to the Events...... 42
iii) Socioeconomic Characteristics of Persons Related to the Events...... 42
iv) Characteristics of Women of Child Bearing Age and Related to the Events.43
g) Definitions and uses of Topics and Themes ofthe VS Report...... 43
6.3Procedures for the Collection of Cause of Death Data......
Chapter VII Guideline for Improving Completeness of VS...... 49
7.1 Introduction...... 49
7.2 Attainment of Complete Coverage of Vital Events...... 49
7.3Attainment of Complete Coverage of Population Groups ...... 50
7.4Attainment of Complete Coverage of Geographic Areas ...... 51
7.5 Regulating the Flow of VS report...... 52
7. 6 Attainment of Timeliness of VS reporting...... 53
7.7 Attainment of Continuity of VS System...... 53
7.8Supervision and Follow-up of CRVS Systems...... 54
7.9Amendment of VS Report ...... 54
7.10Verification of reported Data...... 55
7.11 Internal and External Training...... 56
7.12 Awareness Creation...... 57
7.13 Customer service and Satisfaction...... 58
Chapter VIII Guideline for Compilation of Vital Statistics Data....59
8.1 Introduction...... 59
8.2 Objective of Compilation of Vital Statistics Data...... 59
8.3 Responsibility of Compilation of Vital Statistics data...... 60
8.4 Form of Data Reported to the Compiling Agency...... 61
8.5 Area and Population Coverage...... 61
8.6 Components of Compilation of Vital; Statistics Data...... 62
a) Editing...... 62
b) Querying...... 62
c) Coding...... 63
d) Data Entry...... 63
e) Tabulation of Data...... 64
f) Posting of Data...... 65
8.7 Compilation and Processing of Cause of Death Data...... 65
Chapter IX Guideline for Analysis, Report Preparation and
Dissemination of VS...... 67
9.1 Introduction...... 67
9.2 Analysis of Data...... 67
9.3 Preparation of Report of VS ...... 68
9.4 Dissemination ofVS ...... 69
Chapter X Guideline for Evaluation of Completeness of VS ...... 71
10.1 Introduction...... 71
10.2 Problems of measurement of Completeness of VS...... 72
a) Source of Incompleteness CRVS...... 72
b) Problems of Measurement of Completeness registered Data...... 72
c) Problems of measurement of of Completeness of Enumerated Data...... 73
10.3 Methods of Assessing Completeness of CR Data...... 74
a) Detecting Completeness CR Data...... 74
b) Assessment Using CR Records as an Independent Source...... 75
c) Assessment Using Census Schedules ...... 76
d) Assessment Using Dual Records System...... 76
e) Assessment Using Delayed Registration...... 77
10.3 Assessment of Completeness of VS Data...... 77
a) Types and Sources of Errors in VS Data...... 77
b) Direct Methods of Evaluating Completeness of VS Data...... 78
c) Assessment of Completeness of VS Report...... 78
d) Assessment by Comparison of Trends of VS ...... 79
e) Assessment by Comparison with Population Growth...... 79
f) Assessment by Comparison with Observed Rates...... 80
g) Incomplete Data Methods...... 80
10.4 Monitoring the Vital Statistics System...... 81
Chapter XIGuideline for Resources Allocation for Vital
Statistics System...... 83
11.1 Introduction...... 83
11.2 Political Will as Prospective Source of Resource for VS System...... 83
11.3 Government Budget Allocation as Financial Source for VS System...... 84
11.4 Development Partners as Source of Resource for VS System...... 84
11.5 Other Financial Sources for VS System...... 84
Chapter 13 Conclusion and Way Forward ......
13.1 Conclusion...... 86
13.2 Way Forward...... 87
Annexes......
Vital Statistics report......
References......
Preface
The absence of reliable, complete, timely and accurate VS data in the African Region has led the African countries to launch a new initiativein 2009. To facilitate this initiative, the Medium-Term Program (MTP) for the improvement of civil registration (CR) and vital statistics (VS) systems in the African countries was developed.One of the major activities of the MTP is the preparation of the Regional Guideline for the preparation of the National VS Operation Manual.
TheRegional Guideline for the preparation of National VSOperation Manual is prepared by the CRVS Secretariat at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) as per the mandated activities included in the Medium-Term Plan (MTP). The objective of theRegional Guideline is to provideguidance for the preparation of national vital statistic operation manual by each member states of Africa.It proposes the procedures, methods, applications,definitions, principles, concepts and the approaches to be followed during the preparation of the nationalVS operation manual. The manual is expected to be prepared by the authority responsible for the compilation of VS in collaboration and in a coordinated manner with the CR institution, other related partners and users of VS.
More specifically, the Regional Guideline proposes guideline for the preparation of legal provisions, organizational, administrative and management arrangements for VS system. It also proposes the type and definitions of vital events as per the UN recommendations, procedures to be followed in the collection of VS data, guidelines for keeping completeness, timelines, continuity accuracy and coverage of vital events and statistics.Moreover, theRegional Guideline emphasizes procedures for compilation, processing, Report preparation, dissemination measurement, monitoring and evaluation of VS data and the system.
The objective and goal of the Regional Guideline is to bring together all the essential components required for the preparation of the national VS operation manual. It is expected that the preparation of the operation manual will be uniform, standardized and consistent throughout the African region so that the resulting VS maintain national and international comparison. In the Regional Guideline, the procedures and approaches for the preparation of the VS operation manual are arranged in chronological order. TheGuideline does not attempt to substitute the UN standard guidelines but it rather expects to be supplemented by these standard guidelines.
Chapter I
Background
1.1Introduction
Reliable, complete and timely information on VS is an essential and fundamental foundation for policy making, planning, programming and accountability. However, the needed VS information is often not available or rarely available in African countries, except in a few countries. The absence of this information is attributed to under investment and lack of political commitment to improve the CRsystem that is essential for the collection of vital events data and VS system that is responsible for the compilation, analysis and dissemination of VS information. As a consequence of the absence of such information, decision makers, researchers, administrators and other government and non-government users of VS data are unable to obtain the information for their purpose.
To overcome the depressing current status of VS, different approaches of data collection methods have been used to capture vital events data to produce the required information.Among the methodsused, censuses, sample surveys and CRplay a prominent role as data source for VS. Unfortunately,censuses and sample surveys, due to the inherent problems associated with them, did not produce the needed reliable information on VS in Africa. The reason for this is that both census and sample survey which are conducted at ten and five year intervals, respectively, failed to produce continuous vital event data. Secondly, bothmethods are affected by memory lapse leading to error in the collected data. Thirdly, the data obtained from both sources could not be used for estimation of vital indicators at local level administrative units. Finally, due to the incompleteness of the data obtained from bothcensuses and sample surveys, indirect methods of estimation, based on the data obtained from both sources, are applied to estimate vital rates indirectly.Unfortunately, the indirect methods have their own limitation to produce reliableVS for a country. Therefore, conventional CRsystem remained as the best and only reliable source of vital events data for the compilation of VS.
What makes CRsystem as the best source of data for VS is that it is continuous, permanent, complete, timely source of vital events data. As a result, register based VS is believed to be complete, continuous and timely. These are the characteristic and important features of reliable VS. However, despite the importance accorded to the CR system, except in few countries, the data obtained from CR system remained incomplete in African countries. As a result of this, African countries took a new regional initiative to improve CR and VS system. In this connection, the 2009 regional workshop that was held in Dar-es-Salaam recommended the preparation of the Medium-Term Program (MTP) for the improvement of CR and consequently the improvement of VS in the region. Among the activities included in the MTP is the preparation of a Guideline for the preparation of the national VS operation manual. The present document, entitled The Regional Guideline for the Preparation of National Vital Statistic Operation Manual (RGPVSOM) is the outcome of that recommendation.
This RGPNVSOM is prepared to serve as a tool for the preparation of the national VS operation manual for member countries. VS here refers to the collectionof vital events data by registration,compilation, processing, analyzing, evaluating, presenting and disseminating these data in statistical form.Chapters I to Chapters XII of theRGPNVSOM propose the procedures for the preparation of the national VS operation manual (NVSOM) for African countries.
1.2 Historical Perspective and Current Status ofVS in Africa
a) Historical Perspective of VS
The early history of VSshows that Egyptians, Romans and Greece were using counts of births and deaths for military and fiscal purposes. In addition, registrations of births, deaths and marriages have long been in use for legal purposes in England and in some European countries such as France. But none of the data obtained by these registrations were used for VS production purposes until in 1662 the use of the registration method for obtaining statistical information was introduced.However, the use of registration records for statistical purposes was given little attention until 1839. In that year, compiling of abstracts in the General Registrar Office of England was started.Later on, cities in Europe began producing an annual account of births, deaths and marriages from registration records.
In the African contest, the practice of registration of vital events was introduced by the colonial rulers back in 16th century. Mauritius and Senegal had registration of vital events in the 17th century and Ghana in 1888. Studies have shown that in a few countries, such as Algeria, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles,theinstitutions of civil registration systems for the entire country date back to the nineteenth century. But in the majority of the African countries, the development occurred only in theearly years of 1950. For example, in East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi and Somalia, birth and death registrations were made compulsory for the European population in the first two decades of the nineteenth century. Later on, in some of these countries, registration was extended to Asians. However, it is not until after the attainment of independence in the 1960sthat compulsory registration laws applicable to all population groups were passed in some of these countries.
In French speaking West African countries of Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Benin and Niger compulsory registration was instituted in 1933 for the African population. However, it applied only to a selected group of people such as soldiers, public servants, resident of certain administrative centers, certain chiefs and their families and those eligible to pay taxes on landed property or income.As the above study shows, in 1950, compulsory registration was extended, this time, to Africans living some ten kilometers around civil registration centers, which were usually located in principal towns.
However, none of these countries have a history of compiling VS from data obtained from CR. Since most of the African countries were under the colonial rule and as a result, the existing registrations were targeted towards the Europeans settlers and their subordinates. Hence, history and the development of CR and VS pertaining to African population proper can only be traced from the sixties on ward that is from the post-independence period.
b) Current Status of VS
After independence, most African countries established CR and VS in their countries. However, few countries gained success in their attempts and the majority did not. Even some of those that appeared to be successfulfailed due to internal restlessness. The problems with African CR and VS are lack of completeness of coverage of vital events, population groups and geographic area. These problems emerge from lack of proper management, administration and organization. Moreover, lack of proper budget allocation which resulted from lack of political commitment from the side of authorities is another important cause for the low level development of CR and VS.The first step in the establishment of CR and VS systems is the enactment of legal provision that which compel, direct and strengthen the activities of CRVS systems. One of the major properties of legislation is to set rules and regulations that compel the public to report the occurrence of vital events within a specified period of time. However, most African countries do not have such a strong and functional legal provision.
Another important cause for the currently depressing lack of success of African VS is the application of the so called indirect methods of estimation of VS. Countries invested more on censuses and sample surveys instead of vital registration to generate vital events data.This alternative approach has diverted the attention of the countries from improving vital registration and to invest more on censuses and sample surveys.Despite the attention given and the investments made, censuses and sample surveys have not provided the expected and requited information due to the fact that both sources are affected by memory lapse and faulty assumptions of the indirect methods.Other factors that significantly affect the African CR data and VSare lack of awareness, cultural and traditional beliefs.
In general, the factors contributing to thecurrent problems of completeness of coverage and timelinessof African CR and VS system can be summarized aslack of political will, administrative barriers, legislative barriers, economic barriers, cultural and traditional barriers. These are the problems to be tackled in order to improvethe current status of CR and VS in Africa.
1.3 Regional Initiatives on Improving CRVS
a) APAI-CRVS:
In Africa, CRsystem has for long remained underdeveloped and hence been unreliable and failed to meet the obligation that it was established to perform. As a result, it is seen as a nonfunctioning system. The uncoordinated and isolated, project based and pilot study approaches which were repeatedly applied to bring about functional changes that would enable the system to provide the service it is established to renderhave shown no success.
In view of this, the regional workshop that was held in Dar-es- Elam, Tanzania on June 2009, afteraddressing some of the drawbacks that hindered the development of the system in Africa, took a new initiative and recommended an African Program for Accelerated Improvement of CR and VS (APAI-CRVS). To implement the program a five year Medium Term Plan (MTP) was developed. Ministers from each member country endorsed the plan and committed themselves to improve the CRVS in their respective countries and support the efforts being made with regard to achieving improvements in CRVS by the regional organizations.
The MTP is expected to serve as a guiding tool for countries and international and national organizations in their attempt to the overall improvement of CRVS system.In accordance to MTP, appropriate institutions responsible for the administration and management of CRVS systems, human infrastructure are to be established in order to develop the systems. Institutions engaged in the registration of vital events are expected to devise appropriate institutional and human infrastructure capable of addressing such operational demand.
The objective of the Africa Program on Accelerated Improvement of CR and VS (APAI- CRVS) is to bring together the various CRVS undertakings in an integrated manner and advocacy framework. Its overall objective is to provide a management and programmed guidance to the operations and services of the regional agenda of reforming and improving CRVS systems in the African continent, promote systematic and coordinated approaches for developing regional plan for improvement of CR and VS; promote country ownership, strengthening the national CR and VS and development of human resources and institutional capacity.