Members and associate members of ESCAP came together in 2014 to proclaim the Asia-Pacific Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Decade, 2015-2024. They shared the same vision: By 2024, all people in Asia and the Pacific will benefit from universal and responsive CRVS systems that facilitate the realization of their rights and support good governance, health and development. Ten years after the proclamation of the Decade, have we achieved this vision?

A comprehensive review of progress throughout the Decade is required to answer this question. In this regard, ESCAP recently organized a Stats Café to launch the questionnaire for the 2025 review of the implementation of the Regional Action Framework on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific (RAF) on 13 June 2024. Ms. Treta Sharma, Administrator-General, Ministry of Justice, Fiji, and Chair of the Regional Steering Group (RSG) for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific officially launched the questionnaire which was followed by Dr. Philip Setel, Vice President, Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, Vital Strategies, who presented on the importance of reviews for monitoring and evaluating progress and for identifying areas of support. ESCAP secretariat shared the rationale, timeline, process and available support to countries for completing the 2025 review questionnaire. For more information on the Stats Café, please refer to this link.

ESCAP and development partners will provide support to members and associate members of ESCAP to complete the questionnaire. Information on the available support, frequently asked questions, and relevant information are available on our getinthepicture website. Members and associate members have until 15 September 2024 to return the completed questionnaire to ESCAP. After collecting and validating the responses from the questionnaires, ESCAP will produce a regional progress report, to be endorsed at the Third Ministerial Conference on CRVS in Asia and Pacific, which is scheduled to take place from 24-26 June 2025.