The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), with support from the Bloomberg Data for Health Initiative (D4H), is holding the second workshop of the Project to improve the capacity of national Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems in producing and disseminating vital statistics. The Project supports the implementation of the Regional Action Framework on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific, in particular Goal 3 which stipulates that accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced, based on registration records, and disseminated. This multi-phased Project consists of two, sequential training workshops between January and March 2019 and will lead the participating countries in creating a complete, national vital statistics report. Resources can be found by following the link below. http://www.getinthepicture.org/resource/presentations-and-working-session-documents-second-workshop-phase-ii

The second Ministerial Conference on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific is being organized for 2020 to review the progress made in the implementation of the Regional Action Framework on CRVS. As a first step, ESCAP recently issued etters to all seats of government in Asia and the Pacific asking them (a) to appoint a National CRVS focal point and (b) to nominate a representative to serve on the Regional Steering Group for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific. Appointment or confirmation of the national CRVS focal point As outlined in the Regional Action Framework on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific, national midterm progress reports are to be submitted to ESCAP over the course of the 2019 calendar year. Based on these reports, a midterm review will be conducted at the second Ministerial Conference in 2020. To collect the national midterm progress reports from countries, ESCAP prepared a standard questionnaire to be shared with the national CRVS focal points. To ensure the midterm questionnaire is sent to the correct persons in the countries, ESCAP asked seats of government to confirm or appoint a national CRVS focal point. Nomination to the Regional Steering Group for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific Since 2015, the Regional Steering Group, comprised of 30 members, has guided the implementation of the Regional Action Framework and acted as the custodian of the Asia and Pacific CRVS Decade (2015-2024). It also provided strategic guidance to governments and development partners for fostering cooperation and coordination at national and regional levels. However, as we are approaching the mid-point of the CRVS Decade, the membership of the Regional Steering Group will be renewed. In accordance with the terms of reference, ESCAP opened the nomination process again and asked all seats of government to nominate a representative to serve as a member for the 2020-2024 period. The future members will be particularly involved in the preparations for the second Ministerial Conference on CRVS in 2020. The nominations must be sent to ESCAP no later than Monday, 1 April 2019. The final decision on the membership will be based upon the criteria listed in the Terms of Reference of the Regional Steering Group. The new members will serve from January 2020 and will be actively involved in the preparation to the 2020 Ministerial Conference. For more information on the Regional Steering group please go to the following link: http://www.getinthepicture.org/regional-steering-group-crvs-asia-and-pacific. Next Steps April-May 2019: ESCAP will disseminate the midterm questionnaire to all national CRVS focal points. 27-31 May 2019: Presentation of the new list of Regional Steering Group members to the 75th Session Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific for approval. September 2019: Fifth meeting of the Regional Steering Group, with a strong focus on the technical discussions for the preparation of the 2020 Ministerial Conference. Second Half 2020: Second Ministerial Conference on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific.