appropriate, integrated and secure information and technology solutions; non-existent or inadequate expertise in civil registration, vital statistics and cause of death; a weak advocacy and communication programme; and registration tools not standardized and fully aligned with international recommendations. The following were also observed: the inadequate accessibility of some service points; a vital events registration backlog; a lack of integrated planning and reporting in civil registration; and inadequate vital statistics collection, compilation and releases. There is also an inadequate level of use of vital statistics as evidence in policy and planning, and ill preparedness and lack of capacity in educational institutions to produce civil registration professionals at various levels. B. External environment Forces in the external environment could create opportunities or reduce those factors that could be threats to the Africa Programme at one time or another. Opportunities may arise from the positive aspects of political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors. On the other hand, external threats to the civil registration and vital statistics system may arise from aspects of the same factors, such as economic instability, natural hazards, cyberattack and the like. The external environment is usually beyond the Programme’s control. Risk minimization measures, however, could help to ease their negative influence. These measures could involve positive alignment of the Africa Programme strategy with the forces of change, thereby adjusting with the change rather than being ignorant of it or resisting it. A major development in the external environment that would create opportunity to the Africa Programme is the increasing recognition of the importance of a civil registration and vital statistics system at the global and regional levels as an essential underpinning of the 2030 Agenda. In this connection, key frameworks and forums are discussed in the following paragraphs. 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063: In September 2015, 193 States Members of the United Nations adopted the historic resolution committing themselves to the 2030 Agenda. Rooted in universal rights and driven by the key principle of leaving no one behind, the 2030 Agenda contains 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets, which builds on the Millennium Development Goals that ended in December 2015. The 2030 Agenda is ambitious, universal and transformational and is aimed at balancing economic growth, social development and environmental protection. The year 2015 also marked the adoption of Agenda 2063 and its first ten-year implementation plan (2014-2023) at the continental level. This Agenda is Africa’s transformative development framework to achieve accelerated, sustained and inclusive economic growth that leads to sound, resilient and inclusive socioeconomic development on the continent in the coming 50 years. A complete and efficient civil registration and vital statistics system is fundamental to the implementation and monitoring of both Agendas. The principles of universality of civil registration and vital statistics lends itself perfectly to the key mantra of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind and the realization of human rights. In March 2016, the forty-seventh session of the Statistical Commission agreed to a global indicator framework consisting of 230 indicators as “a practical starting point” for the 2030 Agenda. There are two indicators in the list directly relating to civil registration and vital statistics systems (see table 1). 8