Hybrid International Consultant: Development of a Training Manual for Production of Quality Vital Statistics Reports from Civil Registration System in Africa presso United Nations Development Programme

To apply:  include a brief motivation letter, detailed CV, concise methodology on how the consultancy will be carried out, and a draft outline (table of contents) of the Vital Statistics training curriculum/manual

A well-functioning civil registration system, the official and continuous recording of life's key events, is the bedrock of a modern, prosperous, and just society. While often operating in the background, this vital infrastructure provides the foundation for individual rights, effective governance, and sustainable development. Its usefulness extends from the most personal aspects of an individual's life to the highest levels of national planning and international commitments. At its core, a civil registration system documents vital events such as births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and adoptions. Vital statistics are information obtained from civil registration and other sources that shed light on the demographic characteristics of a population (e.g., birth rate; mortality rate; cause of death; marriage and divorce rates). This seemingly simple administrative task unlocks a cascade of benefits for both individuals and the state.

Several assessments have been undertaken to examine the successes, opportunities, gaps and challenges of CRVS implementation in Africa. The common issues identified included: - fragmented systems (e.g., lack of coordination between health and civil registration); inadequate legal and policy frameworks; low coverage or completeness of all vital events, particularly marriages and divorce; poor quality and/ or paper-based infrastructure, and limited use of vital statistics data in decision-making. 

The institutional obligations granted by the country's legal framework for CRVS, as well as its administrative and organizational structures, determine which authorities are used in each country. The national statistical offices oversee the production of vital statistics reports in most countries. Statistics on births and deaths are produced by the civil registration office in certain countries, whereas statistics on deaths and their causes are produced by the ministry of health in other countries. In some countries, statistics on marriages and divorce are produced by the ministry of justice. It is crucial that all agencies concerned work together to produce the national vital statistics report, regardless of the model used. 

This TOR is developed to facilitate the development of a comprehensive training manual/curriculum that will support countries to prepare vital statistics indicators, analyze data from the civil registration system, and prepare reports for all vital events. It will also promote access, dissemination and utilization for policy, programme and strategy formulation.

To contribute to the improvement and standardization of civil registration data analysis and production of vital statistics reports, UNFPA ESARO is looking for a consultant to review the available resources including methodologies, and prepare a comprehensive training manual/curriculum on data quality assessment, generate accurate indicators, correctly interpret the findings and promote capacity building for the creation and use of high-quality vital statistics to facilitate the modernization and efficient use of CRVS data.

The following tasks will be performed by the consultant:

1. Review, compile and produce a comprehensive list of resources on methodologies for production of vital  statistics from civil registration data through a desk review. This comprises, among other things, guidelines, strategy documents, tools, reference books, indicators, data processing guides, and reports. 
2. Engage with stakeholders on the process of analysis and production of vital statistics from civil registration data, to ensure completeness of data and that the most relevant resources are included in the comprehensive resources under Task 1. 
3. Prepare a training manual/curriculum for generating vital statistics considering all the phase data collection, assessment, compilation, analysis, report preparation, and promotion of results on all vital events. The outline of the training manual and coverage will be discussed and approved by the project team.

• Include the following in the training manual/curriculum: - quizzes, worked examples to showcase the generation of various indicators. 
• Where possible, include examples of how to perform time-series, cohort, and/or predictive analyses; create statistical reports, dashboards, and visualizations of CRVS data; evaluate the completeness and accuracy of civil registration and cause-of-death data using international methodologies; and analyze CRVS datasets (births, deaths, causes of death, marriages, etc.) for trends, completeness, and disaggregation (e.g. age, sex, geography). 
• The training manual should be in a format that is usable for face-to-face training, with the potential of transforming it into an online training tool. The online training version will be considered after this consultancy is completed but will utilize the same resources. 

1. Prepare presentation(s) of the training manual/curriculum and all accompanyingmaterials for all chapters/modules to be used for validating the draft manual. 
2. Submit the final training manual/curriculum and presentations upon incorporating feedback from the validation process.

Estimated Level of Effort of 100 working days over 5 months

Expected Start Date: August 2025

End date: Feb, 2026

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered (e.g., electronic, hard copy, etc) 

The final product, the CRVS Data Analysis and Production of Vital Statistics resource toolkit (Training Manual)—will be validated and approved by UNFPA ESARO with technical oversight by the CoE-CRVS at UNFPA HQ. To support this process, the milestones and deliverables are as follows: 

Deliverables: 

1. Inception report, A comprehensive report based on the Desk Review based on Task 1
2. A complete draft training manual covering all phases of vital events, it must be a comprehensive manual with all sessions as outlined in Tasks 2- 3, including lesson objectives, quizzes, examples; this will have been reviewed and approved by the technical reviewers – draft for validation and final after accommodating inputs according to an agreed outline.
3. Presentations of all modules/chapters of the Training Manual Consultative meetings on the report with CRVS stakeholders; and
4. Final Training Manual and final presentations after incorporating comments from reviewers and technical committee members Consultancy report summarizing all activities and outcomes and all deliverables—final training manual; tools; sample datasets; indicators reference guides; etc. 

1. Advanced degree in statistics, demography, data science, public health, or related field
2. Minimum 10 years of relevant professional expertise in assessment and compilation of vital statistics from civil registration systems and other administrative data systems strengthening
3. Proven experience in the development of training curriculum on demographic analysis to enhance the capacity of both data producers and end users (decision makers), as well as delivering capacity building.
4. Strong analytical skills in generation of indicators from administrative and other datasets and use of software such as CSPro, SPSS, R, STATA, Excel are added advantages.
5. In-depth knowledge of international CRVS frameworks (UNSD, WHO, UNICEF, etc.) is a must.
6. Excellent command of English language, as well as report writing and presentation skills
7. Familiarity with the mandate of the UN and particularly UNFPA is an asset.
8. Knowledge of Sub-Saharan Africa in the context of CRVS and especially is a must.

Your application attachments must include:  a brief motivation letter, detailed CV, concise methodology on how the consultancy will be carried out, and a draft outline (table of contents) of the Vital Statistics training curriculum/manual.