Kiribati | Get Every One in the Picture

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Kiribati

The Civil Registry Office, under the Ministry of Women, Youth and Social Affairs, is the main authority for civil registration in Kiribati. Several other stakeholders are also involved in the CRVS system, such as the Ministry of Justice, the Health Information Unit of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, and the main producer of vital statistics, the National Statistics Office (NSO), under authority of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. The development of the CRVS system has been placed in the Kiribati Population Policy (2014-2034) framework, addressing different problems faced by the inhabitants.

A lot of efforts have been put to increase the registration rate, with support from different international partners including UNICEF. Birth registration completeness has reached 84% for children under 5 years old (2015). Meanwhile, death registration was estimated to be 40% complete (2014). This progress has been achieved through mobile registration and other outreach programs. The system now also includes island council clerks and assistant clerks and church representatives, which play an important role in information gathering in remote islands and communities.

The planning allowed by a well-functioning CRVS system is even more important to Kiribati considering their fragile situation in the face of climate change, and the potential need for population relocation has encouraged authorities to develop it as quickly as possible. The challenges still faced include the barriers of remoteness, lack of communication, lack of knowledge and access to registration right and services, as well as the lack of a proper legal framework.

CRVS Focal Point:

Ms. Tiensi Teea, Registrar for Births, Deaths and Marriages, Ministry of Women, Youth and Social Affairs

RSG Member:

Mrs. Kaaro Neeti, Secretary, Ministry of Justice

Kiribati

Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events

Goal 1 Targets:

1.A

By 2024, at least 100 per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.

1.B

By 2024, at least 100 per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

1.C

By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

1.D

By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.

1.E

By 2024, at least 80 per cent of all deaths recorded by the health sector in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year have a medically certified cause of death recorded using the international form of the death certificate.

Goal 2. All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, as necessary, to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights

Goal 2 Targets:

2.A

By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all births registered in the territory and jurisdiction are accompanied with the issuance of an official birth certificate that includes, as a minimum, the individual’s name, sex, date and place of birth, and name of parent(s) where known.

2.B

By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths registered in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are accompanied with the issuance of an official death certificate which includes, as a minimum, the deceased’s name, date of death, sex, and age.

Goal 3. Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and are disseminated

Goal 3 Targets:

3.A

By 2020 annual nationally representative statistics on births – disaggregated by age of mother, sex of child, geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources

3.B

By 2024, annual nationally representative statistics on deaths – disaggregated by age, sex, cause of death defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate), geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.

3.C

By 2024, at least 80 per cent of deaths occurring in health facilities or with the attention of a medical practitioner have an underlying cause of death code derived from the medical certificate according to the standards defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate)

3.D

By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to 18.9 per cent.

3.E

By 2024, at least 80 per cent of deaths taking place outside of a health facility and without the attention of a medical practitioner have their underlying cause of death code determined through verbal autopsy in line with international standards.

3.F

By 2024, key summary tabulations of vital statistics on births and deaths using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within one calendar year.

3.G

By 2021, key summary tabulations of vital statistics on causes of death using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within two calendar years.

3.H

By 2020, an accurate, complete and timely vital statistics report for the previous two years, using registration records as the primary source, is made available in the public domain.

Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events

Goal 1 is an expression of the internationally accepted principle of the universal coverage of civil registration. The CRVS system should register all vital events occurring in the territory and jurisdiction of the country or area, including among hard-to-reach and marginalized populations.

National Targets:

1.A

By 2024, at least 100 per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.

Note: This country has not submitted estimates for the number of births for all years. The level of completeness of birth registration was therefore assessed with international estimates for every year, to allow comparison. These measurements are therefore to be interpreted with caution.

BASELINE

2014

81%

MIDTERM

2018

82%

TARGET

2024

100%

1.B

By 2024, at least 100 per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

Note: These figures are from an administrative source, and not from surveys like for most countries.

baseline

2010

100%

MIDTERM

2018

86%

TARGET

2024

100%

1.C

By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

TARGET

2024

100%

1.D

By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.

1.E

baseline

2014

16%

TARGET

2024

80%

Goal 2. All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, as necessary, to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights

Goal 2 reflects that CRVS systems provide legal documentation of civil registration to individuals and families for legal and administrative purposes. Legal documentation is strongly linked with a broad range of rights and activities, in particular legal identity. This goal addresses the distinction between the civil registration of a vital event and the possession of formal proof that it took place, in the form of legal documentation.

National Targets:

2.A

baseline

2010

100%

MIDTERM

2018

100%

TARGET

2024

100%

2.B

baseline

2010

100%

TARGET

2024

100%

Goal 3. Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and are disseminated

Goal 3 highlights the critical importance of civil registration being linked to the production and quality assurance of vital statistics on the occurrence and characteristics of vital events.

National Targets:

3.A

TARGET

2020

3.B

TARGET

2024

3.C

Note: This target was not monitored as part of the Midterm Questionnaire on the Implementation of the Regional Action Framework for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific.

baseline

2014

16%

TARGET

2024

80%

3.D

By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to 18.9 per cent.

Note: This country's objective has been modified to reflect the current understanding of the target, expressing the percentage of ill-defined codes to achieve.

baseline

2014

31.5%

MIDTERM

2018

11.6%

TARGET

2024

18.9%

3.E

Note: In light of recent countries’ experiences, Verbal autopsy is not encouraged to be applied to a large population scale, but rather on a representative sample. To reflect this, Target 3E is not anymore monitored by the coverage percentage of Verbal autopsy, but by the use or not of Verbal autopsy and its different applications.

MIDTERM

No

TARGET

2024

Yes

3.F

TARGET

2024

3.G

TARGET

2021

3.H

By 2020, an accurate, complete and timely vital statistics report for the previous two years, using registration records as the primary source, is made available in the public domain.

TARGET