ISLAMABAD: The first regional estimate of the level of death registration completeness in Asia and the Pacific region has found 87 per cent of unregistered deaths in five countries, including Pakistan.

Besides Pakistan, the other four countries are China, India, Indonesia and Bangladesh. More specifically, completeness exceeded 99.9pc in 10 countries and was below 50pc in South and Southwest Asia, according to a study published by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP).

The study estimated that of the approximately 32.1 million deaths in 58 countries of the region, 23.8m were reported, resulting in a regional estimate of completeness of approximately 74.3pc in 2018.

Sub-regional estimates reveal a contrasting picture. The highest completeness rate is observed in North and Central Asia (97pc), while all other sub-regions have completeness rates below 80pc, falling as low as 66pc in South and Southwest Asia.

Beyond death registration itself, the study also constitutes an overview of the level of publication of vital statistics in the region. The results emerging from the study are encouraging, with 36 countries having published statistics recently, and 17 more having communicated relevant statistics to an international organisation.

While the proximately 8.2m unregistered deaths each year are concerning, there has been a significant progress. Countries and development partners are committed to achieving the shared vision of the 2014 Ministerial Declaration to “Get everyone in the picture”. It establishes that by 2024 all people in the region should benefit from universal and responsive CRVS (civil registration and vital statistics) systems.

The mid-term review of the Asia-Pacific CRVS Decade, “A Snapshot of Progress Midway through the Asian and Pacific Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Decade”, shows that most countries with low death registration completeness at the beginning of the decade have seen improvements.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2023