Photos show the world’s ‘uncounted’ people — and what it takes to be counted
July 1, 2025. Sirajganj, Bangladesh Mothers who lacked birth certificates for themselves and family members hold up the newly obtained documents after a drive in Dhamainagar Union, part of a campaign to get people to register so they are eligible for social safety new programs.
Juan Arredondo
hide caption
toggle caption
Juan Arredondo
“The Uncounted” is the name of a project by the Colombian-American photographer and filmmaker Juan Arredondo.
That title refers to people who have no life cycle records. No birth certificate. No death certificate. Or in some cases, the document may exist but finding a copy is like trying to climb Mount Everest.
Arredondo traveled to six countries to explore the importance of these records and the impact of their absence. His photos are currently part of the sprawling open-air Photoville exhibition in Brooklyn, New York, open through May 30.
Every unrecorded birth means a life without a legal identity and all the rights, services and protections that come with it.
June 11, 2025. Musanze District, Rwanda Goodlive Nyiramajyambere (left), Hosee Nziyonemeye (center) and Icamdenien Uwamahoro (right), sort through the paper archives searching for birth and death registration of their relatives at the Civil Registration Office. While Rwanda is actively digitizing all papercivil records, physical copies are still required for some official procedures. The transition to digital systems aims to improve accessibility.
Juan Arredondo
hide caption
toggle caption
Juan Arredondo
Every unrecorded death means that someone is invisible to the health system, their cause of death a missing piece of data that could prevent future losses.
And there are a lot of people who go uncounted. “Each year, nearly half of all deaths and 25% of all births go unrecorded worldwide,” Arredondo notes.
February 28, 2025. Agusan del Norte, Philippines Nurses at the Agusan del Norte Provincial Hospital perform initial checkups on the date of the recorded birth.
Juan Arredondo
hide caption
toggle caption
Juan Arredondo
The photo at the top of the story, from Bangladesh, shows mothers holding up newly issued birth certificates after a government registration drive. Having the certificate enables residents to enroll in a food assistance program.
There are other benefits to documentation. “Fundamental to public health is understanding what the data says about deaths and births,” especially the causes of children’s and other premature deaths, explains Jennifer Ellis, who leads the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative. The challenge is that across the globe, an estimated half of all deaths and a quarter of all births are left unrecorded. Or even if they are recorded, the paperwork may be unfiled, undigitized and effectively inaccessible.
November 29, 2024. University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia Forensic pathologists and support staff prepare for the day’s death investigations. Records of causes of death are critical in establishing priorities for a country’s healthcare system.
hide caption
toggle caption
Because the majority of deaths in remote or low-income countries occur at home rather than in a hospital, clinical or medical descriptions of the reasons for the mortalities also remain unknown. Without that missing information, Ellis says, communities and governments may lack the means to identify previously unrecognized health threats or track the emergence of communicable disease epidemics. By contrast, with cumulative data in hand, health officials can tailor their policies to respond effectively.
December 3, 2024. Death Registration Office, Kitwe, Zambia Lazarus Kangasa waits at the Kitwe City Council Registration Office for a burial permit, the final step in certifying and obtaining his son’s death certificate.
Juan Arredondo
hide caption
toggle caption
Juan Arredondo
That is what happened in Zambia when the Bloomberg Philanthropies program analyzed a childhood mortality study and found found that 75% percent of all children born with HIV but untreated for it would die by the age 5. That led to a change in government policy making sure at risk children would be tested and treated if need be. As a result, that number rose from a low of 3% to children tested and treated, the number rose to 85% percent.
June 14, 2025. Rulindo District, Rwanda Thacien Ngirabatware (left) and his mother, Aurelia Muhayimana, recount the circumstances of her husband’s death from heart failure to Aciadomme Inqaise, a verbal autopsy officer. Verbal autopsies are part of a national effort to improve data for death records.
hide caption
toggle caption
Arredondo worked with the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health (D4H) Initiative and the public health organizations Vital Strategies and CDC Foundation as he made photos that tell the stories of what it means to be uncounted –- and to at long last be counted.
February 25, 2025. Quezon City, Philippines Arthur R. Caballero holds the urn containing the ashes of his mother, Erma R. Caballero. The funeral service, provided free of charge, is part of an initiative to support families who cannot afford funeral expenses.
Juan Arredondo
hide caption
toggle caption
Juan Arredondo
Diane Cole writes for many publications, including The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. She is the author of the memoir After Great Pain: A New Life Emerges. Her website is DianeJoyceCole.com
The fact that is the name of a project by the Colombian-American photographer and filmmaker Juan Arredondo really puts things into perspective.
If every unrecorded death means that someone is invisible to the health system, their cause of death a missing piece of data that could prevent future losses, then the bigger picture starts to look very different.
Mount Everest has been vocal about this, good to see them staying on it.
On one hand arredondo traveled to six countries to explore the importance of these records and the impact of their absence. But at the same time every unrecorded birth means a life without a legal identity and all the rights, services and protections that come with it.
What stands out is every unrecorded death means that someone is invisible to the health system, their cause of death a missing piece of data that could prevent future losses. That is the part worth paying attention to.
The bigger issue here is arredondo traveled to six countries to explore the importance of these records and the impact of their absence. That changes the calculation.
If that title refers to people who have no life cycle records, then the bigger picture starts to look very different.
If is the name of a project by the Colombian-American photographer and filmmaker Juan Arredondo, then the bigger picture starts to look very different.
What stands out is every unrecorded birth means a life without a legal identity and all the rights, services and protections that come with it. That is the part worth paying attention to.
In other words every unrecorded birth means a life without a legal identity and all the rights, services and protections that come with it. Curious to see how this develops.
The detail about is the name of a project by the Colombian-American photographer and filmmaker Juan Arredondo is something people should sit with.
Reading that arredondo traveled to six countries to explore the importance of these records and the impact of their absence — hard to argue with the logic there.
So the bottom line is every unrecorded death means that someone is invisible to the health system, their cause of death a missing piece of data that could prevent future losses. Wonder how this will land.
The bigger issue here is that title refers to people who have no life cycle records. That changes the calculation.
The detail about arredondo traveled to six countries to explore the importance of these records and the impact of their absence is something people should sit with.