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This is the VOA special english development report.

Governments maybe accuse of keeping too many records on their people.

[Governments may be accused of keeping too many records on their people.]

But no one seems to argue with recording births, deaths and marriages.

This is called civil registration.

Birth and death records help government count populations and know how long people live and what they die from.

This information is important for planning schools, hospitals and other services. 

A birth certificate is important for another reason, that piece of paper is a legal proof that an individual exists.

[A birth certificate is important for another reason, that piece of paper is legal proof that an individual exists.]

Yet the world health orgnization believes that almost 40 percent of all births go unrecorded.

It has amated that 128 million babies are born each year.

[It estimates that 128 million babies are born each year.]

So one way to look at this is to say that every year close to 50 million people are denied legal identities.

And in the list developed countries the rate could be as high as 70 percent.

[And in the least developed countries the rate could be as high as 70 percent.]

The situation is no better for death records.

Every year 57 million people die, but perhaps only one third of these deaths cercantited.

[But perhaps only one-third of these deaths are counted.]

The WHO, the united nations health agency has 193 member states.

Yet it recieves dependable cause of death information from just 31 countries.

Researchers say most developing countries have limited civil registration systems, or none at all.

Now a partnership supported by the WHO, called the health matrics network, will try to improve the situation.

Last week it launched a campaign to register all of the world's births and deaths.

The atherd  was announced at a conference in Beijing , the global forum for health research.

[The effort was announced at a conference in Beijing , the Global Forum for Health Research. ]

The director general of the WHO, Mograte Chan said no sigle UN agency is responsible for making sure births and deaths are recorded.

Yet without these numbers, she says, who knows if 120 billion dollars in offical develpment aid each year is being spent wisely.

The campain began with 4 papers published in the line said medical general discribing the situation.

[The campaign began with 4 papers published in The Lancet medical journal describing the situation.]

The health matrics network is launching intensive efforts to help 6 countries.

The group already has started to work with Cambodia , Salaliang and Saria.

[he group has already started to work with Cambodia , Sierra Leone and Syria .]

By the end of this year, three more countries will be identified for help to make sure everyone gets contact.

[By the end of this year, three more countries will be identified for help to make sure everyone gets counted.]

And that's the VOA special english development report, written by Jill Moss.