Leaving No One Behind: A Digital Path Toward Counting Everyone

With one in four births and about 40% of deaths worldwide still unregistered, too many people remain invisible. Rights, services and protections are increasingly difficult to obtain without a legal identity and the means to prove it.

Ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, we brought together experts to discuss the United Nations mandate to record every birth and death, and the role digitalized civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems must play to ensure everyone is counted.

Speakers at the event included:

• Jennifer Ellis, Data for Health Initiative, Bloomberg Philanthropies
• Mary-Ann Etiebet, President and CEO, Vital Strategies
• Ghislain Irakoze, Data Value Advocate, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data
• Josephine Mukesha, Director General at the National Identification Agency (NIDA) in Rwanda
• Sheema Sen Gupta, Director of Child Protection, UNICEF
• Philip Setel, Vice President, Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Program, Vital Strategies
• Moderated by Shakuntala Santhiran (Shaks), international broadcast journalist and professional moderator.