South Africa has a well-established civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system with notable improvements in the registration of births and deaths since the early 2000s. However, improvement in the quality of cause-of-death information remains a challenge. In addition, the SARS CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the shortcomings of the current CRVS in providing timely cause-of-death information, information about deaths occurring outside of health facilities, and the National Department of Health’s access to identified cause-of-death information to enable public health response.

View the complete Rapid assessment of cause-of-death data collection and public health use in South Africa Report