Improving birth registration for an inclusive Africa

“Most people in Africa and Asia are born and die without leaving a trace in any legal record or official statistic,” stated an article in a 2007 edition of The Lancet. The author referred to this fact as a “scandal of invisibility.” There are many welcome efforts to improve access to civil registration services for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. Yet few specifically highlight the gender dimensions of inequality in civil registration. There are several opportunities to rebalance gender inequalities in CRVS systems and increase civil registration among women, children, and other vulnerable populations.