MOGADISHU, Somalia – The Federal Minister of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation, H.E. Ali Yusuf Ali Hosh, presided over the Third Annual National Steering Committee Meeting on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS), reaffirming the Somali government’s commitment to building a modern and inclusive civil registration system.
Held in Mogadishu, the high-level meeting convened senior representatives from key Federal Ministries and Government Agencies. Among the speakers was H.E. Khadija Mohamed Al-Makhzoumi, Somalia’s Minister of Family and Human Rights Development, who is also a committee member. She commended the ongoing efforts and emphasized the importance of inclusive and rights-based data collection mechanisms.
Opening the session, Minister Ali Hosh—who chairs the national CRVS steering committee—applauded the significant strides Somalia has made in modernizing civil registration. He highlighted recent milestones in the development of infrastructure, data systems, and inter-agency collaboration aimed at capturing vital population data such as births, deaths, marriages, and migrations.
“Accurate civil registration is not just about data—it’s about protecting human rights, delivering public services effectively, and planning for national development,” Minister Hosh remarked during his address.
CRVS systems are essential for effective governance and the delivery of services. For Somalia, a country recovering from decades of conflict and instability, having a reliable national civil registration framework is crucial for ensuring citizenship documentation, electoral processes, healthcare planning, and human rights protection.
This meeting marks the third installment of an annual series aimed at evaluating progress and setting future objectives for Somalia’s CRVS agenda. The national effort also aligns with regional and international goals such as the African Programme on Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (APAI-CRVS) and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Participants reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening inter-ministerial cooperation, improving data interoperability, and securing necessary funding and technical assistance from international partners. The committee also outlined plans to expand registration access to underserved rural and conflict-affected communities in the coming year.
With the momentum building, the Ministry of Interior and its partners aim to transform CRVS into a powerful tool for state-building, social equity, and national planning in Somalia.
