About OpenCRVS

Civil registration (CR) is a process by which a government records vital events occurring in a population, such as births, deaths and marriages. It provides data on life itself and for governments, it provides the sole continuous source of vital statistics (VS) for evidence-based policy and decision-making.

Without a birth certificate, a child does not exist in the eyes of the law. Everyone should have a legal identity with which to access their rights, basic services and opportunities. Civil registration can be the foundation of each individual’s legal and social identity. The importance of CRVS is captured in the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), in particular the SDG target 16.9 “By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration”.

Despite government obligations to register all vital events, levels of civil registration remain critically low in the developing world. Globally, around 1 in 4 children under 5 remain unregistered and over 100 countries do not have functioning CRVS systems. Modern digital technologies have the potential to transform CRVS processes based on their ability to extend registration coverage, standardise and streamline processes, and integrate data, all at a lower cost. Current CRVS systems are not delivering on this promise and do not reflect country needs. The advantages of technology are clear.

In response to these needs, we have been leading the development of OpenCRVS, a standards-based, open-source software product that provides for the CRVS needs of all countries as a global good. It is a solution that responds to the needs of its users, both those that will be working with it on a daily basis and those people and institutions that stand to benefit from its functionality.