KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) – The Registrar General’s Department (RGD) will be staging a symposium on Friday aimed at increasing awareness of the importance of death registration.

The event is scheduled for 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the National Housing Trust (NHT) Overtime Building, 4 Park Boulevard, New Kingston.

Attendees will be provided with information on how to handle death registration matters, and given a step-by-step guide on the process of obtaining a death certificate.

Addressing a JIS Think Tank on May 3, Chief Executive Officer at the RGD and Deputy Keeper of the Records, Deidre English Gosse, said death registration “is an important area that we want the public to be informed about”.

She said when persons die, it is critical that their death is registered, whether or not they own assets.

Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Manager at the RGD, Monique Lin Quee, informed that Jamaica had a death registration rate of approximately 76 per cent at the time of the last death validation study done in 2008.

She noted that while the rate has increased since then, there is room for further improvement.

In addition to the RGD, the symposium will include presentations from the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation, Jamaica Constabulary Force, Jamaican Bar Association, life insurance companies, Electoral Office of Jamaica, the Coroner’s Court, and from pathologists.