Washington, D.C., 9 July 2025 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Bloomberg Philanthropies have renewed their agreement to enhance civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems in the Americas. The agreement expands ongoing work under the global Data for Health (D4H) initiative, aimed at improving how countries collect and use data on births, deaths, and causes of death to shape public health policies.
In many countries across the Region, data on deaths remain incomplete or inaccurate. For example, in several countries, fewer than half of death certificates include a documented cause of death. Underreporting is also common, with more than 20% of deaths going unrecorded in some areas. This lack of reliable information limits governments’ ability to prioritize health needs and allocate resources effectively.
To address these challenges, PAHO and Bloomberg Philanthropies will continue to support countries in assessing and improving their information systems, with a strong focus on CRVS. The project is expected to run through 2027, allowing for a sustained effort to strengthen data systems across the Region.
Key activities under the agreement include:
- Assessing national CRVS systems and proposing tailored improvements
- Gathering best practices to support data governance, the digital transformation of CRVS systems, and the integration and interoperability of ICD-11, the World Health Organization’s international classification of diseases
- Providing technical assistance to selected countries based on PAHO ‘s 2020–2025 Strategic Plan
- Developing a regional training course to help countries integrate the latest iteration of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) into their health information systems
- Supporting countries and territories of the Caribbean to improve the quality and availability of vital statistics to increase the proportion of accurately and completely registered births and deaths, and to modernize systems.
The agreement will also promote international collaboration in advancing health information systems, including through the development of workshops that bring together stakeholders from across the globe to discuss the digital transformation of civil registration and vital statistics systems.
The project is aligned with PAHO’s Information Systems for Health (IS4H) Action Plan 2024–2030, focusing on digital transformation, information systems interoperability, secure data exchange, and capacity-building. Knowledge-sharing activities—such as a community of practice, technical webinars and publications—will also help countries adopt and replicate effective practices.
The agreement will enable countries to generate more complete and reliable data to become better equipped to make evidence-based decisions that can improve health outcomes and reduce inequities across the Americas.
