The National Population Commission (NPC) has unveiled 131 digital registration centres in Anambra, saying millions of births and deaths remain unregistered.

Chidi Ezeoke, the NPC Federal Commissioner representing Anambra, disclosed this on Friday in Awka.

The event heralds the commencement of full digital birth and death registration under the electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (e-CRVS) system.

It also commemorated the 2026 World Population Day, observed on July 11.

Mr Ezeoke said Nigeria recorded an average of five million births annually, but birth registration coverage stood at 57 per cent nationwide.

He said death registration remained below 20 per cent, leaving millions of Nigerians without legal identity.

“This limits the availability of reliable demographic data required for effective national planning and resource allocation,” he said.

Mr Ezeoke said the commission had begun the nationwide digital registration of births and deaths through the VitalReg platform.

He said the platform became operational nationwide on July 1, describing the initiative as a major CRVS milestone.

“This initiative is a major milestone in Nigeria’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system.

“It will ensure that every birth and death is captured through a digitally enabled registration platform,” he said.

The commissioner said 4,011 functional registration centres had been established across the 774 local government areas.

He said the commission was working to expand the number of centres to about 8,000 nationwide.

“In Anambra, 131 registration centres have been opened in the 21 local government headquarters and several communities.

“More centres have been proposed for the state,” he said.

According to him, VitalReg will provide faster registration services and 24-hour online access to registration facilities.

He said the platform would also support digital certificate issuance, reduce paperwork and waiting time, and improve data validation.

Mr Ezeoke said the initiative would strengthen the security of Nigeria’s national CRVS database.

He added that the platform would serve as a foundational database for other national data systems.

According to him, it would also strengthen interoperability across Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem.

Mr Ezeoke urged Nigerians and other stakeholders to support the initiative by promptly registering all births and deaths.

He also highlighted the 2026 World Population Day theme, ‘Realizing the Hopes and Aspirations of Young People – Today and for the Future’.

The commissioner called for greater investment in education, healthcare, skills development, and decent employment opportunities.

He also advocated increased youth participation in governance to promote sustainable national development.

Earlier, Obiakonwa Okagwu, NPC state director, urged the media to take the civil registration message across Anambra.

Mr Okagwu also urged residents to regard the registration of births and deaths as a national responsibility. 

(NAN)