Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
The Civil Registry Department has launched a new initiative aimed at increasing awareness and accessibility to civil registration services, especially for rural communities.
The initiative, spearheaded by the department, seeks to address the growing concern that many rural residents are unaware of the legal requirement to register deaths within the stipulated 30-day period.
With many citizens living as far as 80km from registration centres, the gap between rural communities and essential services remains a barrier.
Presenting a policy brief on the registration of rural community deaths at the Data to Policy symposium in Harare yesterday Ms Lettisia Zinengeya, assistant registrar general for Births and Deaths at the Civil Registry Department said the current registration rates in rural areas were alarmingly low, largely due to the inaccessibility of civil registration services and a widespread lack of understanding about the importance of registering deaths.
The symposium was organised by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat), Vital Strategies, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Data for Health Initiative.
“We have realised that many people in rural areas are either unaware of the 30-day deadline or do not have access to the necessary services,” Ms Zinengeya said.
“Our goal is to ensure that every Zimbabwean, regardless of where they live, is able to register a death in a timely manner. This is vital not only for legal purposes, but also for ensuring that families have access to necessary services and support.”
To address these challenges, the Civil Registry Department has scaled up its successful programme of deploying trained agents to issue death confirmation records in rural communities.
The intervention, already implemented in Manicaland and Matabeleland provinces, will be expanded to six additional rural provinces, directly reaching people who live in remote areas.
Ms Zinengeya said the department will also provide additional training to traditional chiefs who will be empowered to assist locals in registering deaths in line with the law.
Drawing on lessons learned from similar programmes in countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar, where death registration rates significantly improved, Ms Zinengeya said the Civil Registry Department hopes to see similar results.
“This programme has proven effective in other countries, and we believe it can have the same positive impact here in Zimbabwe,” she said.
“By bringing the services to the people, we are not just making the process more accessible, but we are also raising awareness about why it is so important to register these events.”
The department’s efforts also include a broader public awareness campaign to educate rural communities on the importance of death registration and the legal consequences of not complying with the 30-day deadline.
