ECA signs agreement with SA government to host 2nd Civil Registration Conference in Durban

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the South African government have signed a cooperation agreement for the hosting of the Second Conference of African Ministers Responsible for Civil Registration in Durban.

The conference scheduled for September 3 to 7, 2012 is on the theme, “Improving Institutional and Human Infrastructure”.

The ECA says in a statement copied to ghanabusinessnews.com that the agreement was signed Sunday July 15, 2012 , on the sidelines of the African Union Heads of State Summit by the Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the ECA, Mr. Abdoulie Janneh and the South African Minister of Home Affairs, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

According to the statement, the conference will review the Africa Programme on Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS).

The first conference was held in 2010 and endorsed a resolution addressing strategic and policy issues on improving CRVS systems on the continent. It also endorsed a medium-term regional plan to be implemented from 2010 to 2015 with interventions and activities to accelerate and improve CRVS systems on the continent, it adds.

The Second Conference of African Ministers Responsible for Civil Registration is being organized in accordance with the resolution of the First Conference, which requested that the Conference should be institutionalized as a standing regional forum to be organized every two years, it says.

In his remarks, Mr. Janneh expressed appreciation to Minister Dlamini-Zuma for the willingness of the government of South Africa to provide the resources necessary to host the conference.

The resources, according to the agreement, include logistical arrangements, which he said, constitute a substantial amount, the statement notes.

He thanked the government of South Africa for the generosity and willingness to support the development of statistics in Africa and underlined that it is due to the country’s support in statistics that the Economic Commission for Africa established the African Centre for Statistics to build the capacity of the rest of Africa in this area, it says.

Minister Dlamini-Zuma welcomed the continued collaboration and underscored the importance of improving civil registration and vital statistics in Africa’s development, the statement says.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi