Make every life countA sound civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system is crucial for the generation of valid data and information that support health sector reforms and development of policies and programmes. WHO Lebanon launched an initiative to strengthen the CRVS in Lebanon, using the comprehensive guide tool developed by WHO and the University of Queensland. An assessment, of two phases, was conducted to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the current Lebanese CRVS system and generate evidence- based corrective actions.
The first phase, completed in November 2012, was a rapid assessment that generated a score of 35% indicating that the Lebanese overall CRVS system requires substantial improvement in several areas. Therefore, a second in-depth comprehensive assessment was carried out in December 2013.
A total of 43 stakeholders, including concerned ministries and government institutions, UN agencies, professional orders and syndicates, and scientific societies participated in the four day assessment workshop; the comprehensive assessment resulted in the identification of a number of strengths and weaknesses pertinent to the CRVS system as related to all key components of the CRVS.
Accordingly, the workshop generated a consensus on recommendations for the short, medium and long term, including but not limited to:
- improving death forms and training medical staff on coding and certification;
- introducing regular quality control on collected data;
- establishing a coordination mechanism linking all concerned key stakeholders; and
- reviewing and amending laws and regulations.
A road map for improving and upgrading the CRVS in Lebanon was proposed to be further elaborated into a detailed plan of action.