CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE LE CENTRE D’EXCELLENCE

for CRVS Systems sur les systèmes ESEC

SNAPSHOT
OF CIVIL REGISTRATION AND VITAL STATISTICS SYSTEMS OF

ZAMBIA
ii SNAPSHOT OF CRVS SYSTEMS OF ZAMBIA

Program information
About the Centre of Excellence for About the International
CRVS Systems Development Research Centre
(IDRC)
Housed at the International Development Research
Centre (IDRC), the Centre of Excellence for Civil Part of Canada’s foreign affairs and development
Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Systems is efforts, IDRC invests in knowledge, innovation,
a global knowledge and resource hub that actively and solutions to improve the lives of people in
supports national efforts to develop, strengthen, the developing world. IDRC works with many
and scale-up CRVS systems. It collaborates stakeholders, including civil society organizations,
with organizations and experts to broker access think tanks, regional organizations, and government
to information and expertise, including global departments to promote growth, reduce poverty,
standards, tools, research evidence, and relevant and drive large-scale positive change.
good practice.

The Centre of Excellence was established with

funding from Global Affairs Canada and IDRC
and contributes directly to the work of the Global
Financing Facility, a key financing platform of
the UN Secretary General’s Global Strategy for
Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health.

Published by the Centre of Excellence for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Systems in partnership with
the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). This publication was authored by Zoran Đoković, a
consultant with the Centre of Excellence.

International Development Research Centre

PO Box 8500
Ottawa, ON, Canada
Email: crvs@idrc.ca
www.CRVSsystems.ca

© International Development Research Centre 2020

The research presented in this publication was carried out with financial and technical assistance from the Centre of
Excellence for CRVS Systems. Housed at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), it is jointly funded
by Global Affairs Canada and IDRC. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of Global Affairs
Canada, IDRC, or its Board of Governors.

Please visit CRVSsystems.ca/country-profiles to see the latest version of this profile, or else to consult the published
profiles of other countries.
 ZAMBIA 1

Contents
Program information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Brief country profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

CRVS dimensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Civil registration system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Legislative framework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Management, organization, and operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Vital statistics system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Vital statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Causes of death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Digitization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Computerization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Population register. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Interface with other sectors and operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Improvement initiatives and external support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Improvement plan and budget. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Support from development partners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Websites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Additional materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Annex 1: Birth registration business process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Endnotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2 SNAPSHOT OF CRVS SYSTEMS OF ZAMBIA

Zambia
Introduction
Northern
The purpose of this report is to provide a brief
introduction to the civil registration and vital
statistics (CRVS) system in Zambia. Luapula Muchinga

The information was collected through a

questionnaire completed by the Ministry of North-Western Copperbelt

Home Affairs of Zambia in February 2020 and Eastern

supplemented by a desk review of available Central

documents. Among other things, the report Lusaka

Western
presents:

TT Background information on the country; Southern

TT Selected indicators relevant for CRVS

improvement processes;

TT Stakeholders’ activities; and

Disclaimer: The boundaries and names shown and
the designations used on this map do not imply official
TT Resources available and needed to strengthen
endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.

CRVS systems and coordination.

TT Land area: 752,618 km2

Brief country profile
TT Estimated total population: 17,351,822,1 with an
The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country estimated annual growth rate of 2.9 percent.2
in southern-central Africa. Its neighbours are the In 2018, the urban population was estimated at
Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, 44 percent,3 with the remaining 56 percent living
Tanzania to the northeast, Malawi to the east, in rural areas.
Mozambique to the southeast, Zimbabwe and
TT Capital city: Lusaka
Botswana to the south, Namibia to the southwest,
and Angola to the west. TT Official working language: English (Nyanja,
Tonga, Bemba, Luvale, Kaonde, and Lozi are also
Zambia is divided into 10 provinces for frequently spoken)
administrative purposes. Provinces are further
TT Ministries responsible for civil registration:
divided into a total of 118 districts.
Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Health

TT Civil registration agency: Department of National

Registration, Passport and Citizenship (DNRPC)

TT National statistical office: Zambia Statistics

Agency
 ZAMBIA 3

CRVS dimensions
Births
Completeness of birth registration 11% (2014)4

Children under 5 years of age whose births were reported as registered 11.3% (2014)5

Births attended by skilled health personnel 63% (2014)6

Women aged 15–49 who received antenatal care from a skilled provider 55.5% (2014)7

DPT1 immunization coverage among 1-year-olds 94% (2018)8

Crude birth rate (per 1,000 population) 37 (2017)9

Total fertility rate (live births per woman) 4.6 (2018)10

Adolescent fertility rate (per 1,000 girls aged 15–19 years) 120 (2017)11

Population under age 15 47% (2012)12

Deaths
Completeness of death registration 20% (2017)13

Crude death rate (per 1,000 population) 7 (2017)14

Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 40.5 (2018)15

Under 5 mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 57.8 (2018)16

Maternal mortality rate (per 100,000 live births) 213 (2017)17

Marriages and divorces

Marriage registration rate Not available

Women aged 20–24 first married or in union before age 15 5 (2017)18

Women aged 20–24 first married or in union before age 18 31 (2017)19

Divorce registration rate Not available

Vital statistics including causes of death data

Compilation and dissemination of civil registration-based statistics Available

Medically certified causes of death Available

4 SNAPSHOT OF CRVS SYSTEMS OF ZAMBIA

Civil registration system National CRVS systems coordination

mechanisms
Legislative framework In line with guidance from the Africa Programme on
Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and
The main legislative act that defines responsibilities
Vital Statistics (APAI-CRVS), a national coordination
and procedures for registration of births and deaths
mechanism has been set up to decide on the
is the Birth and Death Registration Act Cap 51, from
best way to advance a national CRVS system and
1973. It provides a uniform law for the registration of
to oversee the implementation of improvement
all births and deaths in Zambia without distinction
policies. The coordination is entrusted to a high-
of origin or descent. The birth notification aspect
level CRVS Steering Committee, made up of the
of the registration process is decentralized to
Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry
all districts in the country. All persons born after
of National Development Planning, and Zambia
14 March 1973 are required by law to obtain birth
Statistics Agency. Also, dedicated CRVS technical
certificates, but historically low registration rates
working groups were set up to bring together
indicate that this provision has not been strictly
appointed representatives from the following
enforced. The Adoption Act Cap 50, Marriage Act
groups:
Cap 54, and Statutory Instrument no. 44 of 2016
define responsibility for registering marriages and TT Ministry of Home Affairs;
adoptions. Birth and death definitions in the law TT Ministry of Health;
are in line with United Nations standards, which
TT Ministry of National Development Planning
is not the case for the definitions of marriage and
and Zambia Statistics Agency;
adoption.
TT Ministry of Local Government and Housing;
Management, organization, TT Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs;
and operations
TT Ministry of Community Development;

TT UNICEF;
The Department of National Registration, Passport
and Citizenship (DNRPC), under the Ministry of
Home Affairs, is the authority mandated to carry TT World Health Organization;
out civil registration. It has representation in each TT World Vision; and

TT Expanded Churches Response.

province and district, with facilities located at the
district headquarters. Until recently, certification
of registered births was centralized at the DNRPC Terms of reference define the duties and
headquarters in the capital, Lusaka; birth and responsibilities of the technical working groups.
death certificates could be obtained there. As part
of ongoing reforms, DNRPC introduced a service Administrative-level registration centres
that transports birth certificates produced at the The DNRPC has established registration offices
capital back to the districts and distributes them to outside the capital city to improve access for
persons who ask to register a vital event. As a result registration and to bring registration services closer
of ongoing reforms, the certification part of the to the people. There are 615 registration offices:
registration process is also being transferred to the 75 are in urban centres and 540 are in the districts
provincial level. in rural areas.
 ZAMBIA 5

Accessibility of civil registration services Birth registration applications from the districts
are physically transferred to the provincial DNRPC
To reach the closest civil registration office,
offices or to the Lusaka DNRPC office for districts
household members in urban areas need to travel
located within the capital city. At these centres,
5 to 10 km on average; in rural areas, this distance
information from the registration forms is digitized
can exceed 10 km. Translated into travel time, in
using data entry. It is then transferred into a central
urban areas registration centres can be reached
birth register database. An authorized registration
within less than one hour on foot. In rural areas, this
official verifies each newly entered digital record
might take four to eight hours on foot, or one to
from the registration form, which gives the option
four hours by car.
to print birth certificates. Printed birth certificates
Registration of vital events are physically transferred back to the districts and
from there to the respective health facility. The
The law defines that births should be registered
whole process from the moment of registration
within one month following birth, but a registration
until the certificate is made available for collection
is considered late only after 12 months. Parents can
at the original registration point takes about
initiate birth registration at the health facility where
one month.
the child was born (if the facility provides such
services) or at the DNRPC office in their district. As Based on the procedures, the beginning of the
a first step in the registration process, parent(s) or death registration process varies, depending on
guardian(s) must present their National Registration where a person dies. For a death in a health facility,
Card. After the applicants have been identified, a physician must provide information, including
registration agents at health facilities complete the the medical cause of death certificate. If the death
Notice of Birth, to which they attach a document occurs outside of a medical facility — as, according
issued by the maternity ward. Registration agents to some estimates, nearly half of all deaths in
at health facilities complete the Notice of Birth; Zambia do — a police report or a letter from the
these are transferred regularly to the DNRPC office chief/headman must be provided. Deaths must
in the appropriate district. Based on the notification be reported within 24 hours of their occurrence.
of birth from health facilities, the district registrar The informant’s full name and address must be
enters a new registration record into the birth submitted, along with the deceased person’s
registration book. medical cause of death, identity card, burial permit,
occupation, age, and sex.
If the birth did not take place at the health facility
and the Child’s Clinic Card (known as the Under Zambian marriages are categorized as civil
5 Card) is not available, the registration can marriages solemnized by the Registrar General
be completed only at the DNRPC office in the or customary marriages solemnized by the local
respective district. If there is no medical birth courts. Civil marriages can be concluded by
record or Under 5 Card, an Affidavit Form M can be local council officials or at the church, as the law
used. If the birth is registered after 12 months, an appoints both institutions as registration agents.
Affidavit Reg – Form 12 needs to be completed for The Registrar General needs to be notified within
late registration. The form allows applicants to give 21 days following the conclusion of civil marriage.
reasons why the birth was not registered within Customary marriages are recognized by the
the stipulated period. If the registration request is decision of local courts. In times of divorce, the
submitted at the district DNRPC office, the Notice high court is responsible for civil marriage cases,
of Birth and the entry in the birth registration book while the local court decides on the dissolution of
are done at the same time. customary marriages.
6 SNAPSHOT OF CRVS SYSTEMS OF ZAMBIA

Backlog of unregistered births of death among children aged 0 to 4 years. For

non-communicable diseases, 29 percent of deaths
No information available.
were caused by cardiovascular diseases. Road
Sample registration forms traffic accidents accounted for about 29 percent of
deaths outside health facilities.20
Birth notification form –
data.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ Sample Vital Registration with Verbal Autopsy
birthRegFormZambia.png (SAVVY) is a family of methods that MEASURE
Evaluation and the U.S. Census Bureau developed.
Forms description (birth certificate, death
It allows the direct measurement of vital events
certificate, and death notification form) –
and the determination of causes of death in a
parliament.gov.zm/sites/default/files/
nationally representative sample of small areas,
documents/acts/Births%20and%20Deaths%20
or in selected “sentinel” locations. In Zambia,
Registration%20Act.pdf
the first phase of SAVVY was led by the CSO, in
Registration fee partnership with the Ministry of Health and other
government institutions. The process of conducting
TT Civil registration is free of charge, except in the
verbal autopsies differs by country. Zambia uses
case of marriage registration, where a fee of
employees of the Ministry of Health, who use
US$0.50 is charged.
WHO questionnaires and follow the standard
TT Birth, death, and marriage certificates are issued SAVVY process of conducting verbal autopsies
free of charge. for deaths reported by key community informants.
Once interviews are conducted, medical personnel

Vital statistics system certify the death and code the cause of death.
Two doctors review the data: if the cause of death
differs, the two doctors must reach a consensus.
Vital statistics
Responsibility for implementing SAVVY lies with
Registration of vital events, other than the legal the DNRPC, working with the CSO and the Ministry
aspect, includes collecting the data required for of Health.

TT In 2016, ill-defined or unknown causes

producing vital statistics. Forms have been updated
to ensure that statistical variables are included in
accounted for 63.7 percent of deaths. This
the registration forms and that statistical data is
reflects the fact that most of these deaths
collected, processed, and tabulated in aggregated
occurred outside of health facilities and thus the
form. The events data is anonymized for transition
cause was not known.
to the statistical authority, where a dedicated team
processes data. The team is made up of officers TT Protozoal diseases were among the leading
from DNRPC and the Central Statistical Office (CSO). causes, recorded at 4.9 percent.

TT These causes were followed by tuberculosis at

Causes of death 4.1 percent and HIV at 4 percent.

About 65 percent of deaths occur in health TT Chronic diseases such as hypertension and other
facilities, while 35 percent take place outside forms of heart disease appeared in the top 10, at
health facilities. In 2017, HIV was the leading 1.7 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
cause of death, accounting for about 24 percent TT Other natural causes combined formed
of all health facility deaths. Gestational and fetal 12.3 percent of the total deaths registered.21
growth disorders were the most common cause
 ZAMBIA 7

Political commitment for developing ICT

Digitization infrastructure will help with the digitizing of
To ensure the development of secure, efficient, and registration services, both for CRVS and for civil
interoperable information and communications identification. Phasing out the physical transfer of
technology (ICT) systems among government birth and death registration books for data entry
stakeholders, the Zambian government set and expanding the number of data entry points in
out plans to build and promote national ICT districts will go hand in hand with implementing
infrastructure: this is part of the Smart Zambia ICT platforms at the provincial and district levels.
initiative. Through this initiative, the government Also, further development of an Integrated National
shows its determination to move into the digital Registration Information System (INRIS) will likely
age: it aims to increasingly rely on innovative benefit from data hosting and cloud services that
technologies to advance a national program for the national data centre(s) provides.
e-government, e-commerce, and information
Online registration services at health
technology talent.
facilities
Computerization No information available.

The civil registration system is seen as a key part Mobile technology application
of designing a digitized identity management
Mobile technology is not used in civil registration
infrastructure that Zambian authorities are
processes.
working on. The Integrated National Registration
Information System, set up by the Ministry of Home Unique identification number
Affairs, is designed to function as the database for
No unique identification number is administratively
the new e-ID. It will also host civil registration: birth
and legally defined that could be used to uniquely
and death registration, marriage registration, and
identify a person or to link digital records of that
adoption registration.
person across different digital databases.
Smart Zambia was established under Government
Gazette No. 836 of 2016 as an e-government Population register
division in the office of the President. This initiative The DNRPC is responsible for both civil registration
aims to transform the country through ICT and and identity management. Plans to link the two
electronic government services and processes systems have been adopted; implementation
for effective delivery of public services. As part is at an advanced stage. The Ministry of Home
of Phase I, the Zambian National Data Centre Affairs has yet to set up INRIS, but it is designed
was created to host and provide safekeeping of to function as the database for the new e-ID. It
all digital data that public authorities collect and will also host civil registration (birth and death
process. Zambia’s main national data centre is registration, marriage registration, and adoption
located at the Information and Communication registration). Combining civil registration and civil
Technology Authority in Lusaka. The Authority’s identification database management as part of the
cloud platform was designed to provide national identity management system will follow
processing, networking, and storage facilities for the example of many countries that have created a
government, public institutions, and commercial population register.
enterprise services.
8 SNAPSHOT OF CRVS SYSTEMS OF ZAMBIA

Digitization of historical civil registration Improvement initiatives

records
and external support
A project to digitize historical civil registration
records has not yet begun.
Improvement plan and budget
Link with the identification system
Strategic plan
Most Zambians aged 16 and older hold the national
A five-year costed strategic plan expired in 2019. A
ID, or National Registration Card. With the INRIS
second plan is being developed; it was expected
in the process of being set up, the government is
to be finalized in the first quarter of 2020 to cover
planning to replace the National Registration Card
2020 to 2024.
with the more advanced e-ID. A contracted private
vendor will supply personalization services. Field The budget estimated for the five-year period
data-capturing solutions (including biometric data) (2020–2024) is US$19 million.
and the platform for managing collected data will
be implemented by the government through the Budgetary allocations and requirements
National Registration Information System. The government treasury allocation for the civil
registration system for the 2020 fiscal year is
Interface with other sectors projected to be US$121,000. Development partners
and operations will cover the remaining US$500,000.
Setting up interoperability with other sectors
Activities identified as high priorities
has not been done yet. Registration data is not
available in digital format. The CRVS activities identified as high priorities are
in Table 1.
 ZAMBIA 9

Table 1: CRVS activities identified as high priorities.

Expected
Estimated government Expected
cost allocations budget gaps
High-priority areas (US$) (US$) (US$) Remarks
Operational efficiency for 8,900,000 2,600,000 6,230,000 Improve the quality
CRVS: increase coverage and increase vital event
for vital event registration registration coverage

Mortality surveillance: 3,600,000 1,080,000 2,520,000 Generate continuous and

generate vital statistics, usable mortality statistics
including cause of death, from civil registration
from civil registration

Review and harmonization 1,000,000 300,000 700,000 Create enabling

of legal framework environment

Institutionalization of verbal 3,000,000 900,000 2,100,000 Generate causes-of-death

autopsy in CRVS information for non-health
facility deaths

Advocacy and awareness 2,500,000 750,000 1,750,000 Advocate for and create
creation awareness for CRVS

Total 19,000,000 5,6300,000 13,300,000

Source: Department of Civil and National Registration

Support from development partners

The development partners that provided support to the CRVS systems improvement initiative are listed
in Table 2.

Table 2: Organizations that provided support to the CRVS systems improvement initiative.

Organizations Kind of support

United Nations Children’s Fund Supports the welfare of children

Global Fund Is involved in the fight against HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis

World Vision Works in communities to overcome poverty and injustice

Expanded Churches Response Faith-based organizations improve the welfare of families and children

World Health Organization Works in the health sector

United Nations Population Fund Provides technical assistance in the strengthening of integrated
population data systems (including CRVS system, population census,
household surveys) and support to the Zambia Statistics Agency in
producing population projections and gender-disaggregated vital
statistics
10 SNAPSHOT OF CRVS SYSTEMS OF ZAMBIA

Conclusion Resources
Zambian authorities are committed to reforming Websites
and improving CRVS. They are making strategic
decisions to ensure that health systems and Ministry of Home Affairs. Department of National
local communities are better integrated into civil Registration, Passport and Citizenship. Republic of
registration and are making better use of ICTs to Zambia. moha.gov.zm/?page_id=5732
improve CRVS. This approach includes enabling
World Bank. 2016. Identification for
closer coordination with the Central Statistical
Development (ID4D). Country diagnostic:
Office. Increasing demand for civil registration
Zambia. documents.worldbank.org/curated/
through awareness campaigns and public
en/318571474317392658/Identification-for-
education is seen as an important step in achieving
Development-ID4D-country-diagnostic-Zambia
this goal. The newly designed birth and death
registration system relies on the existing system, Zambia Statistics Agency. zamstats.gov.zm
but with some key innovations.

TT Birth certificates can now be printed not only Additional materials

in Lusaka, but also at the DNRPC offices in the DNRPC. 2018. Implementation of Sample Vital
provinces where the registration took place. Registration with Verbal Autopsy (SAVVY) in
TT Health facilities within each district have been Zambia. Dissemination of SAVVY Findings (19 April).
named as registration points, in addition to Lusaka, Zambia.
DNRPC offices in the provinces.
Ministry of Home Affairs – Department of National
TT A mechanism for ex officio communication Registration, Passports and Citizenship. 2015.
between health facilities, district DNRPC National Strategic Action Plan for Reforming
offices, and the provincial offices or DNRPC and Improving Civil Registration and Vital
headquarters in Lusaka was introduced. This Statistics. Implementation Period 2014–2019.
makes the process less cumbersome for Republic of Zambia. crvs-dgb.org/wp-content/
citizens. uploads/2015/11/Zambia-National-Strategic-
Action-Plan-for-CRVS.pdf
To ensure the development of secure, efficient,
and interoperable ICT systems among government Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Health, and
stakeholders, the Zambian government has Central Statistical Office. 2018. Zambia SAVVY
set out plans to build and promote national ICT report 2015–16. Mortality and Causes of Death –
infrastructure. This plan is part of the Smart Zambia Information from Verbal Autopsy. Lusaka, Zambia.
initiative. Through this initiative, the government zamstats.gov.zm/phocadownload/Demography/
shows it is determined to move into the digital age: SAVVY%20Report%202015%20-16.pdf
it will increasingly rely on innovative technologies
to advance a national program for e-government, Nyahoda, M. et al. 2018. Mortality and Cause of
e-commerce, and IT talent. In such settings, INRIS, Death Profile for Deaths from the Civil Registration
as envisaged in the strategic documents, will likely System: 2017 Facts and Figures. Health Press
become the provider of identity data in support of Zambia Bulletin 2:9: 17–25. znphi.co.zm/
the e-government and e-commerce platforms. This thehealthpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/
national informatization program will also support research.pdf
further digitizing of CRVS and the operation
of INRIS.
 ZAMBIA 11

Annex 1: Birth registration business process.

Ministry of Home Affairs

Department of National Registration, Passport and Citizenship (DNRPC) provincial offices and
office in Lusaka

Data entry and verification of records from birth registration books

Birth registration books transferred Printed birth certificates physically

to the respective DNRPC provincial transferred back to the respective
offices and DNRPC office in Lusaka district office

District National Registration Office

Completion of notification of birth and entry into birth registration book for applications made at the
district office

Processing of notifications of birth received from health facilities and entry of the information in birth
registration book

Completed notifications of birth Printed birth certificates forwarded

physically transferred to district to the respective registration point at
registrar health facilities

Health facilities
Completion of notification of birth
12 SNAPSHOT OF CRVS SYSTEMS OF ZAMBIA

Endnotes
1 World Bank. 2019. Population, total – Zambia. data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=ZM
2 World Bank. 2019. Population growth (annual %) – Zambia.
data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.GROW?locations=ZM
3 World Bank. 2018. Urban population (% of total population) – Zambia.
data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=ZM
4 World Bank. 2014. Completeness of birth registration (%) – Zambia.
data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.REG.BRTH.ZS?locations=ZM
5 UNICEF. 2017. Cross-sector Indicators: Percentage of children under age 5 whose births are
registered. UNICEF Data: Monitoring the situation of children and women. data.unicef.org/resources/
data_explorer/unicef_f/?ag=UNICEF&df=GLOBAL_DATAFLOW&ver=1.0&dq=.PT_CHLD_Y0T4_
REG.&startPeriod=1970&endPeriod=2020
6 World Bank. 2014. Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) – Zambia.
data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.BRTC.ZS?locations=ZM
7 UNICEF. 2019. Antenatal care. UNICEF Data: Monitoring the situation of children and women.
data.unicef.org/topic/maternal-health/antenatal-care
8 UNICEF. 2018. Cross-sector indicators: Percentage of surviving infants who received the first dose
of DTP-containing vaccine. UNICEF Data: Monitoring the situation of children and women.
data.unicef.org/resources/data_explorer/unicef_f/?ag=UNICEF&df=GLOBAL_DATAFLOW&ver=1.0&dq=.
IM_DTP1..&startPeriod=2015&endPeriod=2020
9 World Bank. 2019. Birth rate, crude (per 1,000 people) – Zambia.
data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.CBRT.IN?locations=ZM
10 World Bank. 2019. Fertility rate, total (births per woman) – Zambia.
data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?locations=ZM
11 World Bank. 2017. Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19) – Zambia.
data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.ADO.TFRT?locations=ZM
12 UN DESA Population Division. 2012. Country population by age.
unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/indwm/Dec.%202012/1b.xls
13 Nyahoda, M. et al. 2018. Mortality and Cause of Death Profile for Deaths from the Civil Registration System:
2017 Facts and Figures. Health Press Zambia Bulletin 2(9): 17–25. znphi.co.zm/thehealthpress/wp-content/
uploads/2018/10/research.pdf
14 World Bank. 2019. Death rate, crude (per 1,000 people) – Zambia.
data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.CDRT.IN?locations=ZM
15 World Health Organization (WHO). 2018. Maternal, newborn, child & adolescent health.
who.int/data/maternal-newborn-child-adolescent/indicator-explorer-new/mca/infant-mortality-rate-
(per-1000-live-births)
16 UNICEF. 2018. Key demographic indicators – Zambia. UNICEF Data: Monitoring the situation of children and
women. data.unicef.org/country/zmb
17 UNICEF. 2017. Cross-sector indicators: Maternal mortality ratio (number of maternal deaths per
100,000 live births). UNICEF Data: Monitoring the situation of children and women.
data.unicef.org/resources/data_explorer/unicef_f/?ag=UNICEF&df=GLOBAL_
DATAFLOW&ver=1.0&dq=.MNCH_MMR+MNCH_LTR_MATERNAL_DEATH+MNCH_MATERNAL_
DEATHS..&startPeriod=2016&endPeriod=2020
18 World Health Organization (WHO). 2018. Global Health Observatory data repository. Women aged
20‒–24 years married or in a union before age 15 and 18. apps.who.int/gho/data/view.main.GSWCAH45v
 ZAMBIA 13

19 World Health Organization (WHO). 2018. Global Health Observatory data repository. Women aged
20–‒24 years married or in a union before age 15 and 18. apps.who.int/gho/data/view.main.GSWCAH45v
20 Nyahoda, M. et al. 2018. Mortality and Cause of Death Profile for Deaths from the Civil Registration System:
2017 Facts and Figures. Health Press Zambia Bulletin 2(9): 17–25. znphi.co.zm/thehealthpress/wp-content/
uploads/2018/10/research.pdf
21 Central Statistical Office and Ministry of Home Affairs of Zambia. 2019. Vital Statistics Report 2016.
zamstats.gov.zm/phocadownload/Demography/2016%20VITAL%20Statstics%20%20Report.pdf
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