The National Population Commission (NPC) has raised concerns that while Nigeria sees approximately five million births each year, the vast majority of deaths go unrecorded. Clifford Zira, a Federal Commissioner at the NPC, noted during an event in Yola that birth registration remains incomplete, with national coverage hovering around 57 percent, while death documentation remains significantly lower at under 20 percent.
To address these gaps, the NPC has launched a digital registration program for births and deaths throughout Adamawa State. This initiative utilizes the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system, which was recently introduced by President Bola Tinubu. The project, which went live in all 21 local government areas of Adamawa earlier this month, aims to improve statistical accuracy to better inform government planning and resource distribution.
Zira emphasized that the commission is working to close these registration deficits by maintaining 4,011 operational centers across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas. Jummai Hassan, the NPC State Director, highlighted the severity of low death reporting in Adamawa and praised the digital transition as a major advancement for the nation’s civil registration infrastructure.
