(Monrovia, Liberia, August 10, 2026) — The Ministry of Health (MOH) today joined other African countries in marking African Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Day, with a call for increased national investment, stronger institutional coordination, and wider access to civil registration services to ensure that every citizen is legally recognized and counted.
The observance was held under the theme: “New CRVS Decade (2026–2036): Consolidating the Gains of APAI-CRVS and Securing the Future of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Africa through Integration, Decentralization, and Digitalization.”
Speaking during the program, Dr Anthony L. Fortune, Assistant Minister for Statistics at the Ministry of Health, said civil registration was fundamental to an individual’s legal identity and relationship with the state.
He explained that CRVS involves the “continuous, permanent, compulsory and universal recording” of vital events, including births and deaths, in accordance with national law.
According to Dr Fortune, a birth certificate provides documentary evidence of a person’s name, age, family relationships and nationality, information that is critical for accessing healthcare, education and other public services.
He said legal identity also affects a person’s ability to participate in political processes, seek justice, own property, secure formal employment, access financial services and exercise inheritance rights.
“Civil registration and vital statistics systems confer legal identity to individuals and inform good governance, protecting human rights and creating inclusive societies,” Dr Fortune said.
He warned that thousands of Liberians continue to live without the rights and protections associated with legal identity, while some die without any official documentation proving their existence.
Dr. Fortune said Liberia must therefore commit substantial public resources to transforming the country’s CRVS system and making registration services more accessible, technically efficient and financially sustainable.
He urged Liberians to take advantage of birth registration services and obtain national identification cards as evidence of their legal existence.
“The acquisition of a birth certificate and national identification card offers legal protection, fulfils rights and ensures that an individual is counted,” he said.
The 2026 theme marks the beginning of a new decade for CRVS development in Africa, building on the gains of the Africa Program on Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (APAI-CRVS).
Dr. Fortune said the new decade places emphasis on three major priorities: integration, decentralization and digitalization.
Integration, he explained, seeks to strengthen links between civil registration systems and sectors such as health, education and national identification, enabling vital information to support service delivery, policy formulation and national planning.
Decentralization is aimed at bringing registration services closer to communities and strengthening local institutions, particularly for citizens who face geographical and other barriers to accessing government services.
Digitalization, meanwhile, is expected to improve efficiency, transparency, resilience and coverage through the use of technology.
The Ministry said the approach reflects a broader vision of making CRVS a foundation for governance, social inclusion and digital transformation across Africa.
The new CRVS decade also seeks to position civil registration as a component of digital public infrastructure capable of supporting equitable access to services, national planning and the continent’s development commitments under Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
In a press statement read during the program by Augustine L. Samah, Liberia reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening civil registration and vital statistics as a national development priority.
The statement, issued in the name of Health Minister Dr. Louise M. Kpoto, called for sustained national investment and stronger collaboration among government institutions, development partners, communities and citizens.
“As Liberia commemorates CRVS Day, the Ministry of Health calls for sustained national investment and stronger collaboration among government, partners, communities, and citizens to advance the country’s CRVS system,” the statement said.
The Ministry stressed that every Liberian should have their birth and other vital events officially registered, noting that civil registration provides legal identity, facilitates access to rights and services and generates reliable data for national development.
The government said the objective is to ensure that “every Liberian is counted and recognized.”
The African Union Executive Council declared August 10 each year as African Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Day during its 32nd Ordinary Session in January 2018 and called on member states to observe the occasion.