title: Better health intelligence: a new era for civil registration and vital statistics?
abstract: The impetus and opportunities for improving birth, death, and cause of death data have never been more propitious. Renewed country commitment to strengthen vital registration systems is clearly evident, supported by nascent regional coalitions of technical and development organisations. The announcement of a major new investment by Bloomberg Philanthropies to strengthen data systems and capacity in selected countries has the potential to catalyse and realise significant improvements in the availability and quality of data for health. This will require technical leadership, strategic intervention choices, strong country partnerships, and efficient delivery and management of multiple technical interventions across participating countries.
authors.affiliation: Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, 207 Bouverie Street, Carlton, 3053, Victoria, Australia. alan.lopez@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Alan D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.affiliation: The Union North America, 61 Broadway, Suite 1720, New York, NY, 10006, USA. psetel@theunion.org.
authors.forename: Philip W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Setel
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007256:Information Systems / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D040442:Public Health Informatics / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D012042:Registries; D014798:Vital Statistics