Mogadishu, Somalia – Somalia today joined the rest of the continent in commemorating the 8th Africa Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Day, underscoring the crucial role of legal identity in governance, service delivery, and socio-economic development.
Observed under the theme “Civil Registration as the Foundation of Africa’s Legal Identity Infrastructure and Digital Systems,” the event highlighted the importance of building robust, inclusive CRVS systems that ensure every birth, death, marriage, and other vital event is accurately recorded.
First established by the African Union Executive Council in 2018, Africa CRVS Day serves as a continental call to action to improve national registration frameworks and integrate them with modern digital systems. Somali officials emphasized that without accurate civil registration, citizens risk exclusion from essential services, legal protections, and economic opportunities.
Government representatives reaffirmed Somalia’s commitment to expanding civil registration coverage, enhancing data accuracy, and integrating digital platforms to support secure and accessible legal identity for all citizens. They called for coordinated national and regional partnerships to overcome challenges in infrastructure, public awareness, and institutional capacity.
The commemoration also served as a reminder of CRVS’s central role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and advancing inclusive governance across Africa.