Opening Remarks
Excellencies
Distinguished Delegates,
Partners, colleagues, and friends,
A good afternoon to you all, and welcome to this Ministerial Roundtable on Health.
We look forward to an open dialogue and exchange of ideas, to support policymakers engaging with different perspectives and opinions.
I would like to start by acknowledging the countries in Asia and the Pacific, and their partners, for the great progress they have made in strengthening their CRVS systems.
Their success has been guided by our common frameworks and strategies:
the Regional Action Framework on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific, and
SEARO Regional Strategy for Strengthening the Role of the Health Sector in CRVS (2015-2024)
As the CRVS decade draws to an end, I would like to thank all countries who responded to the 2025 review questionnaire and the SCORE for health second round global assessment. This has allowed us to take stock of the progress made, as well as identify gaps and lessons learned.
Through strong collaboration between all stakeholders, we have seen improvements in birth and death registration completeness. We have also increased adoption of WHO International Classification of Disease for cause-of-death coding and have improved interoperability between CRVS and health information systems.
However, gaps remain. Incomplete death registration, poor-quality cause-of-death data, and weak data governance continue to be issues.
Over the next 1234 minutes, we will share our experiences and thoughts on building resilient and truly inclusive CRVS that reach everyone - particularly those historically excluded. Every birth and death must be counted. Without this, we cannot ensure data-driven interventions for equitable health outcomes.
It is my pleasure to now introduce you to our esteemed panelists…
Closing Remarks
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for your valuable input and insights in this Ministerial Roundtable, and for reinforcing your high-level political commitment to strengthening CRVS systems.
I call on you to give particular attention to reliable and timely statistics on mortality and cause of death. These are essential for the development of national health and population policies. They underpin the ability of countries to respond to emerging health threats and epidemics.
Capacity-building is crucial. On this point, I should note that our WHO South-East Asia Regional Roadmap also calls for raising capacity, knowledge management, and research.
As WHO, we will continue to support countries to strengthen CRVS by enhancing workforce skills and knowledge. We will also promote strategic investments in knowledge-sharing, research, and digital learning tools.
I call on your support to build national capacities in the correct and consistent application of the standards and rules of the International Classification of Diseases, and to mobilize sustainable investments in national health information systems.
Strengthening institutional collaboration, South–South partnerships, and expert networks are also essential in ensuring robust, adaptable and responsive CRVS systems.
Thank you again for your renewed commitment to the Ministerial Declaration on CRVS.
My thanks to all the Member States, sister UN agencies, and development partners who have already done so much to strengthen CRVS systems in South-East Asia.
I look forward to continuing to work together towards inclusive, resilient, and future-ready CRVS systems.
Thank you.