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World Health Summit | 45 million deaths go unrecorded globally every year, new campaign urges investment in vital statistics systems

Data for Health, an initiative set up in 2015 and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and The Gates Foundation, partners with low- and middle-income countries to improve public health data and use of data for policymaking

4 min readBerlinUpdated: Oct 18, 2025 03:39 AM IST

Even when health data is available, it often remains underutilised, missing its potential to guide critical policy and investment decisions, the experts in one of the panels at the Summit observed (X/@WorldHealthSmt)

Around half of all deaths worldwide annually, about 45 million, go unrecorded, leading to health policy decisions being made with incomplete information. To address this, a new campaign launched at the World Health Summit, Berlin, seeks to promote investment in Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems and emphasise the importance of using accurate data to enhance public health and save lives.

Data for Health, an initiative set up in 2015 and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and The Gates Foundation, partners with low- and middle-income countries to improve public health data and use of data for policymaking. It focuses on four major areas: civil registration and vital statistics; data use for policymaking; Population-Based Cancer Registries; non-communicable disease risk factor surveys. Last year, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced an investment of $150 million now bringing the total investment committed to the initiative to $436 million.

The initiative includes collaborating institutions like the CDC Foundation, Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Vital Strategies, WHO and others. CRVS is the continuous, universal, timely, inclusive and compulsory recording of births, deaths and causes of death in the population. Fully functional CRVS systems also record marriages, divorces and adoptions which are particularly important for women and children. In most countries the registration of a birth creates an individual’s legal identity.

At a panel of top experts on the lifesaving potential of death data; shaping health policies that save lives, experts said without high-quality mortality data, policymakers struggle to understand demographic trends and causes of death and disease, making it difficult to allocate resources effectively. In many cases, even when deaths are recorded, many have vague causes such as “stopped breathing” or “heart failure,” or no cause at all. Even when health data is available, it often remains underutilised, missing its potential to guide critical policy and investment decisions.

According to Betsy Fuller who has worked on the public health team at Bloomberg Philanthropies, approximately 30% of health spending in middle-income countries goes toward NCDs, while in low-income countries it’s about 13%. According to experts 100+ low- and middle-income countries do not have fully functioning CRVS systems and 40% of deaths around the world are not registered.

“Hence even modest investments in data systems can lead to powerful, lasting changes in people’s lives. For every $1 invested in strengthening data systems, countries see $32 in net benefits through better targeted policies and stronger health systems,” Fuller said. The campaign will showcase human-centred stories and technical successes in Bangladesh, the Philippines, Rwanda, Solomon Islands and Zambia.

Chloe Harvey, associate statistician with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, highlighted the importance of bringing registration processes to the village level, making them accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. While internet connectivity remains a challenge in many areas, efforts are underway to simplify registration platforms and make them more user-friendly.

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Dr Hafiz Chowdhury, technical advisor / lead, CDC Foundation, who works with governments in low- and middle-income countries, mostly in Asia and the Pacific, to improve CRVS and cause-of-death statistics, referred to the situation in Solomon Islands and said initially there was no organised data collection. “Primary healthcare was not established at the grassroot level and the usability of cause of death is low. Howeverm we started implementing verbal autopsies and other strategies and made progress in improving quality of death data,” e said.

Dr Alain Labrique, Director of the Department of Data, Digital Health, Analytics, and AI at the World Health Organization (WHO) also highlighted that CRVS was the foundational aspect of health systems and it was important to invest in the the system. “Mortality surveillance is often not prioritised within national health information systems. During the Covid 19 pandemic only 73 of 194 WHO member states could produce weekly death counts exposing critical gaps in civil registration and vital statistics, incomplete cause of death certification, fragmented data systems and limited anayltical capacity,” Dr Labrique said.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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