African Ministers for civil registration meeting in Durban pay tributes to Mills, Zenawi

African Ministers responsible for civil registration and vital statistics meeting in Durban, South Africa have paid tribute to the departed President of Ghana and Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

In a draft statement Friday September 7, 2012 at the end of the two-day Second Conference of African Ministers Responsible for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics CRVS), the Ministers expressed their heartfelt condolences to the governments and peoples of Ghana and Ethiopia for the deaths of President John Atta Mills and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

“We take this opportunity to Express our heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Ethiopia for the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, whose commitment and passion for Africa’s development has contributed to placing CRVS on the development agenda of African countries. We also express our condolences to the government and people of Ghana for the death of Professor John Evans Atta Mills,  for his contribution to the development of Africa.”

The conference under the theme “Improving Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Institutional and Human Infrastructure” was jointly organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the African Union, the African Development Bank and the Government of South Africa, supported by the United Nations Populations Fund, United Nations Children’s Fund, United Nations High Commission on Refugees, the World Health Organisation and Health Metrics Network.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi, in Durban, South Africa.