Approximately half of all deaths in the world go unrecorded and the births of 1 in 4 children under age five have never been recorded. Governments need accurate, up to date information on when and where births and deaths occur, and the causes of those deaths, to ensure the availability and quality of public health data and to be able to design effective public health policies, deploy resources and measure impact. Without birth registration a person cannot obtain legal documents and will experience difficulties accessing health and education services, state benefits, the formal job market, or banking services. Comprehensive CRVSID systems also help to avoid identity fraud, child marriage, child labor, human trafficking and statelessness.
The Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) reviews countries’ legal frameworks, provides technical assistance to reform laws and supports budget advocacy to achieve sustainable funding for Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management (CRVSID) systems. Our work includes:
GHAI is an implementing partner of the Bloomberg Data for Health (D4H) Initiative, which works to strengthen and standardize birth and the registration systems so that everyone, everywhere, is counted.
Where We Work
1 billion people
live in countries that have no standardized system for collecting health data.
Roughly half of deaths
go unrecorded each year.
36 million babies
are born each year without their births being registered.
Close to 50% of women
in low-income countries have no way to prove their age or identity because they lack a birth registration.
2023
2021
2017-2023
In Cambodia GHAI provided technical legal support to develop and draft a new CRVSID law that was adopted in July 2023. The comprehensive new law guarantees civil registration to everyone residing in Cambodia, establishes a digital and decentralized system, removes obstacles and fees from the registration process, establishes a universal right to an ID card for citizens and includes privacy protections for personal data.
In Maldives GHAI provided technical budget advocacy support to the Department of National Registration that enabled the Ministry of Finance to approve the creation and funding of a new cadre of subnational (atoll-level) civil registrars in 2024 and commit to creating and funding island-level civil registrars in 2025-2027, while also financing the expansion of the use of biometric technology for nationwide identity management and supporting interoperability across vital event registration systems.
Budget Advocacy
Program Director
Indonesia Coordinator
Phillippines Coordinator
Cambodia Coordinator
Bangladesh Coordinator
Vice President, Health Systems Strengthening
Country Director, Vietnam
Senior Associate
Uganda Coordinator
Regional Communications Advisor
Regional Advisor, Asia
Zambia Coordinator
Director of Budget Advocacy
Communications Manager
Legal Associate
Sophia San Luis, Global; Lynn Sferrazza, Global; Nayib Chalela, Colombia; Julien Dabire, Burkina Faso; Anika Kingmele, Solomon Islands; Christian Monje, Bolivia; Hadijah Namyalo, Uganda; Reda Oulamine, Morocco; Arquimedes Varimelo, Mozambique
With budget advocacy support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), the Government of the Maldives has made a historic investment in the human and technical resources that support its national civil registration, vital statistics and identity management (CRVSID) systems.
