Less than half of all deaths across the world are registered with a cause, which has historically led to many health policy decisions being based on inadequate and inaccurate information. The Data for Health Initiative works to strengthen data in low- and middle-income countries on births and deaths, as well as risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), so government resources can be refocused to save and improve lives through better-informed public health policies.

Since its inception in 2015, Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative has supported governments to collect 12.2 million birth records and 16.2 million new or improved death records, for a collective 28.4 million new or improved records across 31 countries. With these results, our conviction in the ability of data to create change has only grown stronger and Bloomberg Philanthropies recently invested an additional $150 million in the Initiative through March 2027. This commitment will continue to support governments in strengthening their capacity to collect and analyze data on deaths, cause of death, and NCD risk factors, to adequately and efficiently address the public health challenges they face.  

The continued success of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Data for Health Initiative can be attributed to the dedication and leadership of our partner governments as well as its strong network of institutional partners. These include the CDC Foundation, Global Health Advocacy Incubator, Johns Hopkins University, Pan-American Health Organization, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Vital Strategies, and World Health Organization. Each of these organizations contributes their unique expertise and experience, allowing Data for Health to provide technical assistance that is uniquely tailored to our partner countries’ contexts as well as comprehensive, globally available tools to support any government interested in strengthening its birth and death data or capacity for data use. This commitment also serves to reiterate our continued support for partnerships across organizations, as well as the invaluable partnerships with the governments we support.

The progress of this commitment will be measured by monitoring the total number of new or improved birth and death records across countries that partner with the Initiative as well as the total number of countries the Initiative partners with. Within each country we partner with, completeness and coverage of birth and death registration will also be measured to monitor progress.