By Nankali Maksud, Senior Adviser, Child Protection & Migration, UNICEF, and Bhaskar Mishra, Global Technical Lead, Civil Registration and Legal Identity, UNICEF<\/p>\n
Africa Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Day 2026 comes at an important moment for the continent.<\/p>\n
As Africa prepares to enter a new CRVS decade from 2027 to 2036, we have an opportunity not only to take stock of how far we have come, but to decide how much further, and how much faster, we are prepared to go.<\/p>\n
Across Africa, countries are showing that universal civil registration and legal identity are achievable. Registration services are moving closer to communities. Health and education systems are becoming gateways to birth registration. Governments are reforming laws, investing in digital systems and finding new ways to reach children and families who have historically been left behind.<\/p>\n
Together, these experiences point towards an African approach to the future of civil registration: integrated, decentralised, digital, inclusive and nationally owned.<\/p>\n
The challenge for the next decade is therefore not simply to identify what works. It is to take what works to scale.<\/p>\n