A. Africa Programme and the African Symposium on Statistical Development The African Symposium on Statistical Development and Statistics South Africa have played a critical role in centrally positioning civil registration in the statistical development initiatives of Africa. It is expected that the Symposium will maintain its advocacy and supportive role during the Africa civil registration and vital statistics decade. The Symposium and Statistics South Africa could also provide the much-needed and urgent technical support to the Africa Programme secretariat in the form of the temporary placement of its professionals in the African Centre for Statistics. Such an interim measure would help the secretariat to maintain the momentum gained in the past few years, until such time that the funding necessary to implement this plan is secured. Statistics South Africa has been hosting study tours for other African countries. This South-South cooperation, if continued, would benefit many of the African countries to learn from their peers on best practices of what works and what does not work. B. Strategy for improvement in mortality statistics in Africa The registration of deaths and recording of causes of deaths are the basis for the timely compilation of statistics for policymaking and the management of national health programmes and for international reporting. Mortality data from civil registration, however, is either nonexistent or very weak in most African countries. Countries therefore continue to face challenges in collecting relevant data and reporting against national and international mortality, and goals and targets, such as the Sustainable Development Goals. Unless the situation is reversed quickly, it is likely to continue in the 2030 Agenda period. In response to the resolutions of the eighth African Symposium on Statistical Development and the ministerial declaration of the third session of the Conference of African Ministers responsible for Civil Registration, WHO, in collaboration with ECA, the African Symposium on Statistical Development and the Africa civil registration and vital statistics Core Group, drafted a strategy to improve mortality statistics in Africa for the period 2015-2020 (World Health Organization, 2015). The strategy will complement the Africa Programme strategic plan during the Africa civil registration and vital statistics decade. The present document, therefore, has not included the capacity development and other interventions required in terms of collecting, compiling and disseminating statistics on causes of death. XIII. Mapping civil registration and vital statistics to Agenda 2063, the 2030 Agenda and the Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in Africa Vital statistics play an important role in monitoring some of the goals and targets set by the major continental and international sustainable development initiatives. The revised Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in Africa document provides the alignment and comparison of goals, targets and indicators under the Africa integration agenda with that of the 2030 Agenda, along with the statistical dimensions in the strategy document (African Union Commission and others, 2015). Table 8 is adapted from the revised strategy document and extended to show civil registration products and vital statistics, including causes of death as potential data sources for monitoring the continental and international goals and targets. 27