Birth registration is a fundamental right, recognized by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and often forms the basis for the achievement of many other rights, including, but not limited to, the right to health and the right to education. Birth registration and related information are also key in ensuring effective development planning which benefits all, especially in a country like Samoa which remains increasingly vulnerable to disasters.

This publication is for international development practitioners, both in programme and ICT divisions, who wish to understand and implement digitalised civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) programmes. These findings highlight a selection of CRVS platforms. The platforms were selected after an extensive market survey of existing CRVS offerings. Conducted by UNICEF, the review assessed the functional and nonfunctional aspects, as well as maturity, of CRVS products. This publication is relevant to UN, government, and NGO actors.

This guide is essential for UNDP Country Offices requested, by host governments, to assist in the development of data protection and privacy legislation. It analyses key themes and principles in data protection law and practice, via contrasting how all the the major themes in data protection and privacy law and institutional frameworks are addressed in the major regional data protection and privacy frameworks around the world, including, among others, the AU, OAS, EU, CARICOM and ASEAN. 

The present publication was prepared by United Nations Statistics Division and Vital Strategies, with financial support from the Bloomberg Data for Health Initiative.