Health

The Curriculum on medical certification of cause of death for Pacific Island countries and territories report is now available.
A death certificate is a permanent record of the fact of and characteristics of death. It provides important personal information about the decedent, the circumstances and cause of death and serves as the main source of mortality statistics for a country.

A well-functioning civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system is the cornerstone of good, sustainable governance and is key to social and economic development; The CRVS Systems Improvement Framework report is now available.

Population registers are recognised for their dual role of providing critical information about the civil status of individuals within a population. In the Pacific, to the extent known bySPC, there is no evidence of a country that implements a functional population register.

This paper draws on Vanuatu’s experiences to discuss the importance of civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems and the challenges faced when these systems are implemented during disasters and emergencies. The paper also discusses key strategies to mitigate the impact of disasters on CRVS systems.