NPC Launches Full Digital Birth, Death Registration

The National Population Commission (NPC) has commenced the full digital registration of births and deaths in Bauchi State and other parts of the country.

Chairman of the Commission, Dr Aminu Yusuf, disclosed this yesterday while addressing journalists in Bauchi on the commencement of the full digital birth and death registration exercise.

The registration is done through the VitalReg platform under the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system.

Yusuf, who was represented by the Federal Commissioner representing Bauchi State, Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed Danburam, described the development as a significant milestone in the commission’s efforts to strengthen civil registration, improve the generation of vital statistics and ensure that every birth and death occurring in Nigeria is properly captured.

He said the digital transition was one of the most transformative reforms in the history of civil registration in Nigeria, adding that it demonstrated the commission’s commitment to leveraging technology to improve service delivery, strengthen data integrity and ensure secure documentation of vital events.

“Today’s announcement marks the next critical step in our collective efforts to build a modern, efficient and technology-driven civil registration system that meets international standards and supports Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” he said.

According to him, civil registration goes beyond administrative documentation, as it provides reliable national statistics required for public policy formulation, development planning, resource allocation and effective governance.

He assured Nigerians that the digital transition was not designed to create barriers to accessing registration services, stressing that birth registration and birth notification would remain highly subsidised in line with the commission’s commitment to achieving universal registration.

The NPC chairman said Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually, but millions of births and deaths remain unregistered.

He disclosed that birth registration coverage currently stands at about 57 per cent nationwide, while death registration remains below 20 per cent.

According to him, the situation deprives many Nigerians of legal identity and limits the availability of reliable demographic data required for effective national planning.

To address the challenge, Yusuf said the commission had established 4,011 functional registration centres across the 774 local government areas, with plans to expand the network to about 8,000 centres nationwide.

He added that the commission was strengthening collaboration with relevant stakeholders to build the capacity of registration personnel and ensure that vital events were promptly and accurately recorded through the VitalReg platform.

He said the platform would provide faster and more efficient registration services, 24-hour online access, digital certificate issuance where applicable, reduced paperwork and waiting time, as well as less need for unnecessary travel.

Other benefits, he said, include improved accuracy through automated data validation, a more secure and credible national civil registration and vital statistics database, and a foundational database capable of supporting other national data systems.

“The VitalReg platform has been designed for secure interoperability with government institutions across Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem, enhancing service delivery and promoting greater efficiency,” he said.

Yusuf explained that the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s broader digital transformation agenda and would strengthen efforts towards an integrated and inclusive national identity management system.

He said the NPC had also signed a partnership compact on the decentralisation and localisation of birth registration and legal identity with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), UNICEF and Barnksforte Technologies Limited.

According to him, the partnership is aimed at taking registration services closer to communities, improving accessibility and operational efficiency, strengthening grassroots participation and enhancing the accuracy and inclusiveness of civil registration data.

On the technical aspect of the initiative, Yusuf said the VitalReg platform was being operated under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement with Barnksforte Technologies Limited, a Nigerian information technology solutions provider serving as the commission’s technical partner.

He said the partnership would ensure continuous system availability, cybersecurity protection and regular technological improvements.

“As we commence this new phase of full digital transition, services will progressively be delivered through the VitalReg platform to guarantee greater efficiency, transparency and improved service delivery to all Nigerians,” he said.

The NPC chairman further disclosed that the commission had reviewed fees for some specialised administrative services, including record modifications, certificate reissuance, attestations and verification requests.

He explained that the affected services require additional technical and administrative processing, adding that the review was intended to ensure the continued sustainability of the digital registration infrastructure.

Yusuf called on all stakeholders and Nigerians to support the reform by ensuring that births and deaths are registered promptly.