NPC: Millions of births, deaths still go unregistered despite five million annual births

…Launches nationwide digital birth, death registration platform

By Folarin Kehinde

ABUJA — The National Population Commission (NPC) has disclosed that although Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually, millions of births and deaths still go unregistered, with birth registration coverage standing at about 57 per cent and death registration below 20 per cent nationwide.

The Commission said the registration gap leaves many Nigerians without legal identity and deprives government of reliable demographic data needed for national planning, resource allocation and policy formulation.

NPC Chairman, Dr. Aminu Yusuf, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while announcing the launch of the country’s Fully Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system and the nationwide rollout of the VitalReg digital platform for birth and death registration.