Lusaka — Oliver Chinganya, the Director of Statistics at the Economic Commission for Africa's (ECA) African Centre for Statistics, had the opportunity to brief Zambia's Vice President, Inonge Mutukwa Wina, on the 5th Conference of African Ministers responsible for CRVS and the records it was setting as Africa seeks to bridge the huge identity gap on the continent.

Mr. Chinganya's brief to the VP was mainly about the CRVS, the content, coverage, number of participants and level. The conference was deliberated on the theme "Innovative Civil Registration and Vital Statistics systems as a foundation for legal identity management".

The Statistics Director emphasized that this was the largest conference since 2010 with over 800 high level delegates attending.

"Zambia will now carry the flag on behalf of the continent in championing the CRVS and ID management for the next two years as chair of the bureau," said Mr. Chinganya.

He thanked the government of Zambia for hosting the 5th conference.

Africa, which is home to 1.3 billion people, is faced with a critical legal identity gap, whereby many exist without being known to their governments and without any means to prove who they are.

In her remarks to the conference later, VP Wina said it must be appreciated that this year's conference had brought together ministers responsible for CRVS, national identity, health and information technology.

"Indeed, this shows a realization that providing legal identity for all cuts across several sectors," she said.

VP Wina added; "As we celebrate the positive steps we are taking, this is the time to work with greater determination".