A robust and fully-functioning civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system is fundamental to rights-based inclusive development, good governance and the realization of human rights.  Since 2010 UNFPA has been supporting the Zanzibar Civil Status Registration Agency (ZCRSA) to develop a modern and electronic civil registration system.

The electronic birth registration system is currently operational in three out of 11 districts of Zanzibar where 40,957 births have been registered and 39,098 birth certificates have been issued.  

In 2019, with UNFPA’s technical assistance, the ZCRSA developed a five-year costed plan to scale-up the electronic CRVS system beyond Urban District, West District A and West District B of Zanzibar’s Urban West Region to all districts of Zanzibar, with the goal of establishing a complete CRVS system and electronically recording all births and vital events by 2024/25.