The Papua New Guinea Civil Registration and Vital Statistic (CRVS) Committee, in partnership with the Pacific Community (SPC), has a new comprehensive Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Action Plan (2023-2025), with the goal of an immediate increase in birth and death registration rates, ensuring legal identity for all citizens. The plan will play a pivotal role in generating vital statistics from civil registration records, supporting informed social and economic planning.
Papua New Guinea (PNG) currently faces the lowest birth and death registration rates in the Asia-Pacific region, with less than 1 in 6 babies and less than 1 in 50 deaths registered. This poses significant challenges for establishing legal records and related population databases for national identification, passports, and voter registration. Additionally, the system serves as a crucial national source for vital statistics.
The CRVS Action Plan focuses on both short and long-term key improvement initiatives aimed at supporting the Government of Papua New Guinea in achieving a coordinated approach to the development of the CRVS system in the country. The emphasis is on enhancing access to registration services by leveraging existing health infrastructure and ensuring accessibility for local communities. Notable recommendations include the procurement of additional mobile registration kits for remote areas and the establishment of a civil registration service desk for birth and death registration at Port Moresby General Hospital.
Read the PNG CRVS Action Plan here.
*This Action Plan was developed with support from SPC, ESCAP, WHO, CDC Foundation and UNICEF.