By Henry Kargbo
The Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr Austin Demby, has said that due to the manual entry of information with ultimate submission of Births and Deaths, records show that in 2020 there were low percentages of 34 – 16% respectively. He observed that such inefficiencies of birth records, as example, have major implication for effective care and monitoring of babies during the very critical stage in their lives.
Dr Demby made this statement on 26 October 2021 at the Sierra Palms Hotel in Freetown during a ceremony organised by the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) in collaboration with senior health stakeholders across the country on the topic: “Strengthening Birth and Death Registration Services in the Country”.
He said the absence of such data would result in inefficiency and poor planning with the ultimate negative impact on the country’s health systems.
He also stated that the importance of the vital records for macro level planning involving quantification and forecasting of health program needs could not be overemphasized, noting that “the solution is to take advantage of the bio secure digital tools” the NCRA had produced in the hands of healthcare workers at the frontlines recording these events.
“I’m very confident that we will bring efficiency to this important service to the nation and to every individual,” said Dr Demby.
Addressing health stakeholders, Director of NCRA, Mohamed M. Massaquoi, said Births and Deaths registrations provide information on fertility and mortality profiles for the country because of its useful information for health policy formulation, planning and intervention among many others.
Massaquoi said that NCRA had provided legal and administrative data for variety of purposes, adding that the registration of Births and Deaths are compulsory, and noncompliance is an offence according to the NCRA Act of 2016.
“Births and Deaths events are to be registered and certified within the statutory deadline of 0-90 days and it free of cost,” he noted.
Coordinator of World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Selassi Amah D’Almeida, noted that the WHO as a secretarial of the Ministry of Health is mandated to support the strengthening of civil registration and vital statistics of which restoring Births and Deaths in Sierra Leone.
He said the health sector has an important role to play in strengthening CRVS systems, adding that it is in the best position to notify births and deaths as sign cause of death, since health workers are most likely to be present at or shortly after such event.
