NPC Launches Digital Birth and Death Registration Across Niger State

The National Population Commission (NPC) has officially commenced the full digital registration of births and deaths across Niger State as part of a nationwide rollout of its new Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system, powered by the VitalReg platform.

The digital registration exercise, which began on July 1, 2026, is aimed at making birth and death registration faster, more efficient and more accessible for Nigerians while strengthening the country’s civil registration system.

Speaking on the initiative, NPC Chairman Dr. Aminu Yusuf described the launch of the VitalReg platform as one of the most significant reforms in Nigeria’s civil registration history.

The NPC Director in Niger State, Yusuf Sabo, explained that the new platform provides 24-hour online access to birth and death registration services, including the issuance of digital certificates where applicable.

According to him, the system is designed to reduce paperwork, eliminate long waiting periods through automated data validation, and securely integrate with other government digital identity platforms.

Sabo noted that the initiative will improve the accuracy of civil records while creating a more reliable national Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) database to support government planning, policy formulation and service delivery.

To strengthen implementation, the commission has partnered with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), UNICEF, and Barnksforte Technologies Limited to decentralize birth registration services and improve access at the grassroots.

He added that Barnksforte Technologies Limited is serving as the commission’s technical partner, providing system maintenance, cybersecurity and continuous platform upgrades under a public-private partnership arrangement.

The digital registration programme builds on the E-CRVS initiative launched by President Bola Tinubu in November 2023 and is now fully operational across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The commission also expressed concern over Nigeria’s low registration figures, noting that while the country records an estimated five million births annually, many remain undocumented.

According to the NPC, birth registration coverage is currently about 57 percent, while death registration remains below 20 percent, leaving millions of Nigerians without legal identity and limiting the availability of accurate demographic data for national planning.

Despite recent adjustments to administrative service fees, the commission reassured Nigerians that birth registration and birth notification services remain highly subsidized, emphasizing that the reforms are intended to improve service delivery rather than restrict public access.