The "Nobodies"

“The Nobodies”: Unidentified Dead Bodies — A Global Health Crisis Requiring Urgent Attention, is an important publication which draws attention to the role that forensic scientific methods play in the identification process and explores how the lack of resources in the countries most affected by the global health crisis impacts discovery.

More importantly, the paper suggests practical ways to overcome the challenge, including the urgent need for a combined global effort to identify individuals in marginalised communities, to improve statistical reporting, and set the stage for developing strategies to prevent avoidable deaths. These include creating cross-searchable databases linking records of unidentified bodies and missing persons, both nationally and internationally, which are essential for addressing the humanitarian crisis of unidentified bodies. These efforts, driven by a public health mandate, facilitate resource allocation, system improvement, and collaboration.

"Recognising the dignity and personhood of unidentified dead bodies restores respect for those left behind, rectifies injustices, and acknowledges a long-neglected global problem."

AUTHORS:

• Halina Suwalowska

• Joseph Ali

• João Rangel de Almeida

• Stephen Antonio Fonseca

• Laura Jane Heathfield

• Craig Adam Keyes

• Robert Lukande

• Lorna J Martin

• Kate Megan Reid

• Vina Vaswani

• Harihar Wasti

• Regis O Wilson

• Michael Parker

• Patricia Kingori

Open AccessPublished:September 26, 2023DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00420-5