The Global Summit on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics

Welcome to the official website of the 'Make Every Life Count' Global Summit on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) that will be taking place at the Plaza Athenee Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand on 18-19 April, 2013. The objectives of the Global Summit are:

1. To galvanize multi-stakeholder support to civil registration and vital statistics as a priority development agenda;

2. To demonstrate the value of regional platforms to support country progress on civil registration and vital statistics systems strengthening and share lessons learned;

3. To explore innovations in civil registration and vital statistics systems and their potential for scaling up;

4. To agree on the priority actions moving forward for development partners involved in civil registration and vital statistics, through a Bangkok Statement, outlining and action plan for strengthening country civil registration and vital statistics systems.

The lack of progress in civil registration and vital statistics in developing countries has been described by Lancet editor Richard Horton in 2007 as, "the single most critical development failure over the past 30 years." Therefore, it is even more important to focus the development community's efforts to identifying sustainable solutions and partners to addressing this issue moving forward.

Aside from the benefits of civil registration to individuals in terms of formally establishing their legal identity and ensuring protection of rights, civil registration and vital statistics systems are a fundamental function of governments and play a significant role in improving and monitoring development outcomes. To find out more about what civil registration and vital statistics is and why it is so important, please visit the "What is CRVS?" page.

The 'Make Every Life Count' Global Summit on civil registration and vital statistics is co-hosted by the World Health Organization and the Health Metrics Network, and has been organized by a collaboration of United Nations and international development organizations with a stake and role to play in the improvement of civil registration and vital statistics around the globe.

We look forward to welcoming you to Bangkok.

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