Mozambique Legal Analysis

The order of priority of informants is as follows: either parent; the nearest capable relative present at the place of birth; director of the establishment where the birth occurred; head of the household in the house where the birth took place; the doctor or midwife who assisted the birth, or in their absence, any person who attended the birth; a person authorized by the parent or guardian; or the community authority or religious dignitary present at birth.

Where parents or relatives have not declared birth, the director of a health facility and the attending health professional are allowed to declare the birth, if born in their establishment or health facility.

Mozambique Legal Analysis

Community health workers and midwives play a crucial role in the health sector. Any community health worker or midwife   who attends a home birth or  births within the community has a duty to report births, under Article 119 of the Civil Registry Code.  

Mozambique Legal Analysis

Health sector workers are among the informants listed in Article 119 of the Civil Registry Code. Doctors or midwives are obliged to declare births if relatives or parents do not.

Further, under Article 18B of the Civil Registry Code, health workers are notifiers, which means that they must capture and share data on births occurring in health facilities, electronically. The system then assigns a National Unique Identification Number (NUIC) to the newborn, even if the newborn has not yet been named. 

Mozambique Legal Analysis

Where a death occurs inside a health facility, the death must be declared by the relative of the deceased who is present, or the administrator or director of the establishment.

Mozambique Legal Analysis

A medical doctor must still verify the death. However where this is impossible, the certificate may be replaced by a record drawn up by administrative or police authority with two witnesses, stating that the death was verified and whether there are signs of violence. This is then sent to the doctor or health authority to classify disease/ cause of death and issue the medical certificate of death. 

Mozambique Legal Analysis

Deaths must be certified by health professionals, with evidence of a medical certificate of death. In the absence of one, the registrar must request one from the local health authority who must verify the death and issue the certificate.