Around the world, nearly half of all deaths go unrecorded. And yet, more than 100 low- and middle-income countries do not have fully functioning civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems to record all births, deaths, and marriages.
At a side event during the World Health Assembly, the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative hosted a panel of experts from government, WHO and the CDC Foundation who discussed how death data has informed effective public health policies around the world, and the most strategic approaches to move decision-makers to invest in CRVS.
In opening remarks, Dr. Mary-Ann Etiebet, CEO and President of Vital Strategies, reminded us of the human stories behind each data point. Dr. Adam Karpati, Chief Public Health Officer of Vital Strategies, moderated the panel discussion.
Dr. Lo Veasnakiry, Secretary of State, Ministry of Health, Cambodia, spoke to his country’s decade of progress in strengthening its CRVS system, with birth registration increasing 30% and death registration more than doubling to 70%.
As Cambodia’s system became timelier and more interoperable, the government used this improved data to make strategic budget allocations for some of the most pressing public health issues, most recently road safety and post-natal care in rural communities.
Dr. Brian Munkombwe, Senior Technical Advisor, CDC Foundation, highlighted policies and public health responses across a range of low- and middle-income countries that are part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative, from NCD screenings in Papua New Guinea to cervical cancer screenings in Rwanda to a timely, effective response during a Cholera outbreak in Zambia.
“Mortality data gives governments the opportunity to stop guessing and start planning, with precision,” said Dr. Brian Munkombwe.
Dr. Alain Labrique, Director, Department of Digital Health & Innovation, WHO provided a perspective on how CRVS is foundational for public health data intelligence, particularly as countries move to embrace Digital Public Infrastructure, or DPI.
“DPI moves away from fragmented, piecemeal digital solutions and data systems to systems that government and its partners can invest in once, better sharing and reusing data across agencies without each one ‘reinventing the wheel,’” said Dr. Labrique. His remarks point specifically to the value of death data beyond the health sector.
WHO has developed multiple tools to assist countries in improving their digital data collection, including the latest International Classification of Diseases, ICD-11, which develops a shared language for coding of causes of death, painting a clearer global picture of disease burden.
Dr. Munkombwe and Dr. Labrique shared which messages they found to be most compelling in their conversations with decision-makers. Dr. Munkombwe emphasized the importance of focusing on practicality. “Go to the decision-makers and ask them: how are they making these decisions if they do not know how many people are born in a country, or how many are dying, what are they dying from?” he said.
Dr. Labrique, meanwhile, offered another approach. “We need to escalate to the political argument: death and birth capture is actually the political expression of the value of each citizen’s life. And that flips the script to say: it’s not just about data or data-driven decision-making, it’s about you as a politician valuing the lives of each of your citizens.”
As the panel closed, each speaker agreed: the most powerful argument for investing in death data is the success of countries that have already done it. As Dr. Kiry put it, “There is strong evidence that makes the case for investment in CRVS.”
To learn more, visit: https://dataforhealth.bloomberg.org/
About the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative
Today, approximately half of all deaths in the world go unrecorded; accordingly, health policy decisions are often based on inadequate information. The Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative partners with low- and middle-income countries to improve public health data and use of data for policymaking.
To learn more, visit: https://www.bloomberg.org/.