Photos of Unrecorded Births and Deaths Highlight Documentation Gaps
The Story
The “Uncounted” project by Colombian-American photographer Juan Arredondo documents people without birth or death certificates. The photos are part of the Photoville exhibition in Brooklyn, New York, open through May 30. Arredondo traveled to six countries to explore the impact of missing life-cycle records.
Key Facts
- Nearly half of all deaths and 25% of all births go unrecorded worldwide each year, according to Arredondo.
- A photo from Bangladesh shows mothers holding newly issued birth certificates after a government registration drive, enabling enrollment in a food assistance program.
- Jennifer Ellis, who leads the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative, stated that an estimated half of all deaths and a quarter of all births are left unrecorded globally.
- In Zambia, analysis by the Bloomberg Philanthropies program found that 75% of children born with HIV untreated would die by age 5, leading to a policy change that increased testing and treatment from 3% to 85%.
- The project collaborated with the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health (D4H) Initiative, Vital Strategies, and the CDC Foundation.
Conflicting Reports
No conflicting reports identified in the source article.
Still Unclear
No open questions identified in the source article.
Misconceptions
No widespread misconceptions addressed in the source article.
Key Figures
- Juan Arredondo (Colombian-American photographer and filmmaker; project creator)
- Jennifer Ellis (leads Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative)
Sources: NPR
