Gaps in official death statistics flagged

Only eight African countries have an official system to register deaths, a BBC investigation has found. Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Mauritius, Príncipe, São Tomé, Seychelles, SA and Tunisia have functioning, compulsory and universal civil registration systems which record deaths. The UN's Economic Commission for Africa notes that in the wake of the Ebola epidemic, and now Covid-19, an accurate picture of fatalities is crucial when it comes to allocating resources and funding. ‘In order to help the living, we need to count the dead,’ said UN Population Fund demographer Romesh Silva.