By MARYAM AHMADU-SUKA

The National Population Commission (NPC) has expressed concern over the increasing rate of unregistered births and deaths across the country.

The Federal Commissioner representing Kaduna State, Hajiya Saadatu Dogonbauchi disclosed this during a press briefing in Kaduna.

According to her, though Nigeria records about five million births annually, many births and deaths remain unregistered.

She however, announced that the commission had commenced a nationwide Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system aimed at improving service delivery, strengthen data integrity and ensure secure registration of every birth and death.

Dogonbauchi said she delivered the address on behalf of the Chairman of the National Population Commission, Dr. Aminu Yusuf.

She said the nationwide digital registration of births and deaths became operational on July 1, 2026, across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“The initiative marks a major milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen civil registration and vital statistics through modern digital technology.

She said the E-CRVS system followed its national launch by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Nov. 8, 2023.

Dogonbauchi described the initiative as one of the most significant reforms in Nigeria’s civil registration history.

She noted that civil registration provided legal identity and supported reliable national statistics for planning, policymaking and resource allocation.

She disclosed that birth registration coverage stands at about 57 per cent nationwide, while death registration remained below 20 per cent.

Dogonbauchi said inadequate registration deprived many Nigerians of legal identity and limited reliable demographic data.

The federal commissioner said the commission had established 4,011 registration centres across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.

She added that the commission planned to expand the centres to about 8,000 nationwide.

According to her, the VitalReg platform offers faster registration, online access, digital certificates and improved data validation.

She said the platform would also reduce paperwork, waiting time and unnecessary travel for citizens.

Dogonbauchi explained that the platform supported secure interoperability with government institutions within Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem.

She said the commission had reviewed fees for specialised administrative services to sustain the digital infrastructure.

She clarified that birth registration and birth notification services remained highly subsidised to promote universal access.

“The digital platform operates under a Public-Private Partnership with Barnksforte Technologies Limited as the commission’s technical partner.

She called on stakeholders to support prompt registration of all births and deaths across the country.

Dogonbauchi appreciated state governments, local councils, development partners, healthcare institutions, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations and the media.

She also commended the dedication of commissioners, management and staff for making the digital transition successful.

The commissioner reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to improving civil registration through digital transformation, quality data and enhanced service delivery.

She urged Nigerians to embrace the new platform to guarantee legal identity and strengthen national development planning. (NAN)