Introduction
Civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) constitute the foundation for the exercise of rights, public policy planning, and the monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals. Without complete, timely, and high-quality records of births and deaths—including cause of death—it is impossible to know how many people are born, how many die and why, to identify inequities, or to effectively guide interventions in health, social protection, and development.
Digital transformation and digital interdependence among State institutions are reshaping the way CRVS information is organized and used. Coordination among civil registration offices, vital statistics offices, and health information systems creates opportunities to improve data coverage, quality, and use, but also poses challenges related to governance, interoperability, the use of international standards (such as ICD-11), and the protection of personal data.
This webinar cycle is part of PAHO’s Digital Health Literacy Program and seeks to strengthen the capacities of teams working on CRVS to leverage digital transformation as an ally: improving system integration, enhancing the certification and coding of causes of death, and advancing toward more inclusive, reliable, and useful civil registration and vital statistics systems for decision-making in health and across public administration.
Objective
To strengthen the capacities of civil registration, vital statistics, and health information systems teams in the Region of the Americas to understand the strategic role of CRVS in the digital era and to incorporate good practices in digital interdependence, automated certification and coding of causes of death, and the planning of digital transformation of CRVS systems.
Upon completion of the cycle, participants will be able to:
- Analyze the role of civil registration and vital statistics in the guarantee of rights, public policy formulation, and the sustainable development agenda, in the context of digital interdependence among State institutions.
- Recognize key elements of medical certification of cause of death and the potential of automated coding tools based on ICD-11 to improve the quality and comparability of mortality statistics.
- Identify core components of a digital transformation roadmap for CRVS systems (governance, data architecture, interoperability with health systems, regulatory frameworks, and human capacities).
- Reflect on priorities, opportunities, and challenges to strengthen CRVS in countries of the Region of the Americas, based on national experiences and available technical tools.
Audience
- Civil registration teams (national, provincial/state, and local levels).
- National and subnational offices of vital statistics and official statistical systems.
- Health information systems teams, digital health units, and public health surveillance programs.
- Health professionals involved in birth and death registration processes and medical certification of cause of death.
- Other public-sector stakeholders linked to legal identity, justice, social protection, and planning who interact with CRVS data.
No advanced knowledge of informatics or programming is required. Basic familiarity with the management of administrative or health data is recommended.
Learning Pathway and Methodology
The cycle is structured around three integrated components, a selection of recommended readings, and an evaluation:
1. Audiovisual Content
- Webinar 1: Statistical registration in the era of digital interdependence
- Webinar 2: Automated coding of causes of death with ICD-11 in CRVS systems
- Webinar 3: Toward digital and interoperable civil registration and vital statistics systems
2. Recommended Readings
The recommended readings cover all topics addressed in the three webinars:
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Guidelines for a Legislative Framework on Civil Registration, Identity Management, Vital Statistics and Legal Identity (United Nations, 2023).
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Principles on Identification for Sustainable Development: Toward the Digital Age (World Bank Group, 2022).
Duration
- 3 hours of synchronous webinars (3 × 60 minutes).
- 2 estimated hours for reading materials and completing the final assessment.
Assesment
The cycle is completed by successfully passing four assessments: one corresponding to each webinar and one associated with the readings. To complete and pass the cycle, all four assessments must be approved. Each assessment allows up to three attempts and includes multiple-choice questions, true/false items, and matching exercises.
Certification
A digital certificate of participation will be issued by the PAHO Virtual Campus for Public Health (VCPH) upon completion of the training cycle and all assessment instruments.
To obtain the certificate, participants must:
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View all webinars included in the cycle
- Complete the proposed activities (readings and/or exercises)
- Pass the assessments
- Download their certificate