Abstract
Vital statistics provide essential information for monitoring the progress towards achieving the United Nations
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Well-functioning and reliable civil registration and vital statistics systems (CRVS
systems) are not only needed for national development, monitoring and evaluation systems, but also for organizations
to plan and manage their operation and programs. Well-functioning civil registration systems are the best data source
for reliable vital statistics. However, more than half of the countries around the world do not have CRVS systems or, if
they do, they do not function well. The United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recognize and
are aware of this issue and are facilitating member countries to evaluate and improve their CRVS systems.
In 2011, WHO and the University of Queensland, Australia, developed a standard tool called, “Strengthening practice
and systems in civil registration and vital statistics: A Resource Kit ”, in order to strengthen CRVS systems. WHO and
many UN organizations, such as the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP),
encourage and assist member countries to use this tool.
CRVS systems have existed in Thailand for many decades, but have not been systematically evaluated. Therefore,
an assessment was a key step to understanding the status of the current system and identifying areas that need
improvement. The Thai Health Information Standards Development Center (THIS) and other key stakeholders, such as
the Ministry of Public Health, National Statistics Office, and Ministry of Interior, came together to evaluate the CRVS
system using the WHO Rapid Assessment of National Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems tool.
This report outlines the methodology and findings from this rapid assessment. It contains three main sections: chapter
one describes the background and history of Thailand’s CRVS system; chapter two describes the assessment objectives,
the tool and evaluation process; and the final chapter provides an analysis of results and recommendations.
It is hoped that the assessment will be informed Thai policy makers, administrators and others involved in CRVS of the
system’s strengths and weaknesses and hope to gain their support for further improvment system.
