Initiative of Arsen Tomsky supported by inDrive

INTRO

Child's Pathway

Every child's life follows a pathway — a sequence of conditions, moments of contact with public systems, and decisions made by institutions along the way.

Most child protection systems only start paying attention once that pathway has already led to a visible crisis.

Child Visibility Maps This Pathway in Full, so That Systems can Act Earlier — before Separation Becomes the Outcome

The Child Visibility Initiative uses existing data to examine key checkpoints along this pathway and identify opportunities for earlier support.

Although countries differ in their cultural, social, and economic contexts, many share key points of contact between children, families, and public systems.

Checkpoint Definition

What do We Call a Checkpoint?

A checkpoint is a chance to be seen, not proof that a child was helped. A family can attend every antenatal visit, register a birth, and enrol a child in school, while remaining invisible to the systems meant to protect them.

Visibility describes the capacity of systems to recognise, reach and stay connected with children and families — it is not a judgement of the family, and it is not a guarantee of protection.

Stages 1 of 6
Stage I / Before birth

Before Birth

Antenatal care — the first institutional contact point, when a pregnant woman first appears in a health system's records. Coverage varies widely by country, from over 90% to below 50%, so in low-resource settings, attending ANC may say more about general system strength than a specific visibility signal.

*UNICEF DATA, Antenatal care.

Stage II / Birth

Birth

Delivery care — the newborn's first encounter with the health system as a distinct individual. One of the most reliably tracked checkpoints globally.

Birth registration — the moment a state formally acknowledges the child's legal existence. This is the single most consequential checkpoint: an estimated 150 million children under five worldwide still lack a birth certificate, and its absence tends to cascade into exclusion from every checkpoint that follows.

*UNICEF, "Birth registration steadily increases worldwide, but 150 million children still 'invisible'," December 2024.

Stage III / 0-42 days

First Weeks

Postnatal care — the weakest link in the entire pathway. Globally, only about 64% of newborns receive a postnatal visit within two days of birth. This is also when postpartum family stress and early vulnerability are hardest to detect and easiest to miss.

Effective coverage of newborn postnatal care: assessing the service contact-content gap in 32 low- and middle-income countries, Journal of Global Health, 2025.

Stage IV / 0-2 years

Infancy

Immunisation is one of the most systematically tracked contact points. Children who have not received a single routine vaccine ("zero-dose children") are rarely missing at random: they tend to be concentrated in the same households that also missed antenatal care and facility delivery. This makes immunisation a useful proxy for broader exclusion.

Stage V / 2-5 years

Early Childhood

Early childhood development (ECD) services — home visits, nutrition support, developmental check-ups. This is the least standardised and least consistently measured stage in most countries — a genuine data gap sitting right between immunisation and preschool.

Preschool attendance — enrolment is captured in most surveys, but coverage is low and geographically concentrated in urban areas in many countries.

Stage VI / 6-17 years

School Age

School attendance — the longest sustained institutional contact point in a child's life, potentially spanning 10–15 years, and the primary setting where adults outside the family observe a child regularly. But enrolment isn't attendance, and attendance isn't safeguarding: the children most invisible to education systems. Some children, including children with disabilities, children who work, and migrant children, may face barriers to attendance and receive little follow-up when they are absent.

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What does CVI Measure along This Pathway?

At different points along a child's pathway, public systems have opportunities to see, reach and stay connected with the child and family.

The Child Visibility Index measures this capacity through three dimensions: Accessibility, Recognition, and Continuity. Together, they show where visibility is maintained — and where it can break down.

Learn more about CVI
Child Visibility IndexThree Dimensions
01

Accessibility

Whether children and families can reach the services and support available to them.

02

Recognition

Whether a child or family comes into contact with a system and relevant signs of vulnerability can be recognised.

03

Continuity

Whether contact and support continue across services and over time, rather than ending after a single interaction.