Side event "Strengthening vital statistics and population and housing censuses: challenges and lessons learned during the pandemic"

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of having good data for public policies. The number of total deaths and deaths from COVID-19 by age and sex were key indicators for decision-making during the health crisis. However, many countries in the region still have deficiencies in the completeness and quality of death records and some were unable to rely on these indicators to manage the crisis.

Added to a context of deficiencies in registrations -both deaths and births- is the postponement of population and housing censuses in many countries in the region, further increasing uncertainty regarding the impact of the pandemic on the population and its distribution in the territory. Censuses are also a fundamental source of information regarding migration and mobility, and can present fundamental information on regional differences in fertility and mortality, among other aspects.

The census survey and improvements in the registration of deaths and live births are essential for understanding the demographic situation of the countries of the region and for more precise monitoring of social progress towards the agreements of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.