This ten day workshop, held in Windhoek, Namibia, convened close to 47 professionals – from civil registration, vital statistics, legal departments and Ministries of Health in Africa – for a cross-country learning exchange and training of trainers on CRVS systems’ strengthening. Co-organized by the Centre of Excellence for CRVS Systems, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the World Bank Group, and Vital Strategies/ Data for Health Initiative, in partnership with the Government of Namibia, the workshop was based on the CRVS eLearning course.
Why was this workshop so important?
This workshop facilitated sharing of country experiences and lessons learned, while also supporting learning around international standards and best practices for CRVS systems strengthening through an interactive participatory approach. The goal was to nurture a cadre of professionals who can deliver high-quality training courses and workshops on CRVS systems in their countries or across Africa, wherever needed.
Topics covered included institutional arrangements, legal frameworks of CRVS systems, birth registration and adoption, death registration, marriage and divorce registration, CRVS assessment and strategic planning, business process improvement, gender in CRVS and facilitation skills for trainers. Workshop discussions were accompanied by a field visit to the National Population Register, the Namibia Statistics Agency, and the Ministry of Health in Windhoek.
A total of 13 countries were represented, 8 of which are Global Financing Facility supported countries: Ethiopia, Nigeria, Lesotho, Tanzania, Malawi, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Gambia, Uganda, Rwanda and Ghana. Around 40% of participants were women in decision making positions.
Interested in taking the CRVS eLearning course?
The CRVS eLearning course is hosted on the World Bank’s Open Learning Campus and is offered in two formats: a Basic-Level Certificate Self-Paced CRVS Course and an Advanced-Level Certificate Facilitated CRVS Course. Each module in the course includes information on a specific aspect of CRVS systems, country examples from around the world, self-tests, interactive exercises, accompanying video, and a downloadable version of the content.