Stronger Health Policies Start with Accurate Death Data
Today, nearly half of all deaths worldwide go unrecorded without a cause.
Gaps in cause-of-death data make it harder for governments to make informed decisions that protect lives, strengthen health systems and direct resources most effectively.
By registering and recording every death, governments can better understand causes of death and disease patterns, turning data into lifesaving action.
It’s time to talk about death data.
The Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative is demonstrating that investments in essential data from civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems can lead to powerful changes in people’s health and lives.
Ensures every person counts
Governments gain the clarity to detect patterns and make informed choices that reflect the whole population.
Strengthens health systems
Policymakers can identify health disparities, allocate resources effectively, and develop targeted policies that save lives.
Optimizes government ROI
For every $1 invested in strengthening data systems, countries see $32 in net benefits—through better-targeted policies and healthier communities.[1]
[1]United Nations & Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, with Dalberg Advisors. (2022). Investment case: Multiplying progress through data ecosystems.
The Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative is showing that, around the world, even modest investments in data systems can lead to powerful changes in people’s lives.
Improvements in population-level data about who has died, how, and where – death data – reveal new insights and solutions, leading to targeted, more effective, and efficient health interventions ranging from new health policies to brick-and-mortar clinics.
Ensure every person counts
Governments gain the clarity to detect patterns and make informed choices that reflect the whole population.
Strengthens health systems
Policymakers can identify health disparities, allocate resources effectively, and develop targeted policies that saves lives.
Optimizes government ROI
For every $1 invested in strengthening data systems, countries see $32 in net benefits—through better-targeted policies and healthier communities.[1]
[1]United Nations & Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, with Dalberg Advisors. (2022). Investment case: Multiplying progress through data ecosystems.
In the past decade, 82 countries have partnered with the Data for Health Initiative to turn death data into life-saving action—building smarter, stronger, and more responsive health systems.
And the movement is growing.
Governments are Turning Data into Lifesaving Action
Improvements in population-level data about who has died, how, and where, reveal new insights and solutions, leading to targeted, more effective, and efficient health interventions ranging from new public health policies to expanded services in health facilities and communities that address a country’s emerging health threats and leading causes of death.
More people receive life-saving cancer treatment.
Fewer seniors die from respiratory illness.
More women accessing prenatal care receive gender-based violence screenings and referrals.
