The National Population Commission (NPC) has announced the full digitalisation of Nigeria’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system, saying the reform will transform the way births, deaths and other vital events are recorded across the country.

NPC Chairman, Dr Aminu Yusuf, disclosed this in Bauchi while commemorating the 2026 Africa CRVS Day.

Yusuf, represented by the Federal Commissioner representing Bauchi State, Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed Danburam, said Nigeria formally launched the nationwide digital CRVS system, known as VitalReg, on July 1, 2026.

He said the move marked a shift from fragmented, paper-based registration to an integrated electronic system capable of securely storing and managing vital records.

According to him, the digital system would make registration faster, safer and more accessible, while automated verification and unique identifiers would help reduce duplication and improve the credibility of the national database.

He said the platform would also interface with health institutions, identity management agencies, planning bodies and statistical institutions, strengthening the country’s national data ecosystem.

Yusuf said the reform was particularly important for rural and underserved communities, where distance and limited access had continued to hinder registration.

He disclosed that digital registration services had already been extended to about 4,000 of Nigeria’s 8,809 wards, while more than 4,000 functional registration centres had been established across the 774 Local Government Areas.

The Commission, he said, planned to expand the number of registration centres to approximately 8,000 nationwide.

Despite the digital progress, Yusuf said Nigeria still faced a major challenge in birth registration, with more than five million children born annually but only about 40 per cent of births registered, according to the latest Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey.

He said death registration coverage was also low, stressing that digitalisation alone would not be sufficient without increased public participation.

Yusuf said the Commission had entered into a Partnership Compact Agreement with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, National Identity Management Commission, UNICEF and Bankforte Technologies Limited to decentralise services and strengthen interoperability.

He urged state and local governments, health facilities, traditional and religious institutions, development partners and the media to support the campaign for universal registration.

He said the digital CRVS system would provide timely and reliable vital statistics needed for evidence-based planning, effective service delivery and sustainable development.

Please follow and like us: