V. Current civil registration and vital statistics environment Analysis of the current environment shows where the ongoing civil registration and vital statistics improvement initiative is now. This step is essential in providing the evidence base from the current available sources and knowledge to inform the development of the strategy. This section looks at the activities of the Africa Programme since its inception in 2010 and provides an assessment of the present environment in which it operates by examining the internal environment of the programme (strengths and weaknesses) and the external environment (opportunities and threats). A. Internal environment In essence, the potential strengths and weaknesses of the Africa Programme would emanate from those that already exist in the internal arrangements of the pan-African organizations, the international organizations and in the member countries. The following section presents the strengths and weaknesses observed from desk research, observations and discussions with national and international experts in the field. The strategic plan design is one that will capitalize on the strengths and tackle the weaknesses. At the continental level, several key activities had taken place during the period 2010– 2016 that would ensure sustained civil registration and vital statistics improvement processes. Notable among these were the following: (a) Conference of Ministers. At the continent level, one of the important developments regarding civil registration and vital statistics was the establishment of the Conference of African Ministers responsible for Civil Registration in August 2010. The Conference, institutionalized as a statutory body of the African Union Commission to report to the Heads of State and Government, meets every two years to provide policy directions necessary for transforming civil registration and vital statistics systems and to monitor and advise on the progress of the regional initiative on civil registration and vital statistics. The continued engagement of the African Ministers responsible for Civil Registration for improvement in civil registration and vital statistics demonstrates strong political support and reflects the level of commitment by African countries to change the scandal of invisibility in their populations. The Conference of African Ministers gives policy directions to the civil registration and vital statistics secretariat. The African ministers have held three sessions to date; (b) Pan-African organizations. The three organizations have joined hands to improve civil registration and vital statistics systems in the Africa region. In this regard, ECA developed the medium-term plan during the period 2010-2015, in close collaboration with AfDB, to guide improvement in civil registration and vital statistics systems in Africa. At the same time, the plan serves as a guide to countries and development partners in managing interventions and monitoring the progress of their reform programmes (Economic Commission for Africa and African Development Bank, 2012); (c) Statistics Division. The United Nations has been producing principles and recommendations on vital statistics systems and handbooks on civil registration since the 1950s 6