Birth Registration
Sri Lanka
Declaration and Notification
Informants
Who is designated the primary informant for births occurring in health facilities?
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The law should establish clearly and unequivocally one person primarily responsible for providing the information needed for the registration. Moreover, the law may designate alternative informants and establish the order in which each of them must assume his or her responsibilities. The head of the health facility should be the primary informant for live births occuring in a health facility. The law should also explicitly state what type of facility is considered a “health facility” for purposes of birth registration.Sri Lanka Legal Analysis
The primary informants for all births (regardless of whether they occur inside or outside health facilities) are the mother and the father. If parents are unable "by reason of death, illness, absence, or other inability recognized by the Registrar-General", the law assigns the role of informants to the "occupier of the house or building where the child was born, each person present at birth and the person having charge of the child". The duty to be informed of all births that occur in a division, lies also with the registrar of division under Section 10 though a registrar of division is not designated primary informant for births.Law Source
Who is designated the primary informant for births occurring outside health facilities?
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
It is recommended that the law establish clearly and unequivocally one person primarily responsible for providing the information needed for the registration. If a live birth occurs outside a health facility, the birth attendant (such as a midwife, nurse, doctor or other medical professional), the UN Guidance recommends that the birth attendant be the primary informant designated by law. Moreover, the law may designate alternative informants and establish the order in which each of them must assume his or her responsibilities.Sri Lanka Legal Analysis
The primary informants for all births (regardless of whether they occur inside or outside health facilities) are the mother and the father. If parents are unable "by reason of death, illness, absence, or other inability recognized by the Registrar-General", the law assigns the role of informants to the "occupier of the house or building where the child was born, each person present at birth and the person having charge of the child".Law Source
Role of the health sector
What is the role of the health sector in birth registration for births occurring in health facilities?
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
For births occurring in health facilities, the most effective approach is to designate the head of the institution (or designee) as informant. Some countries follow a two-step process where the health sector notifies the registrar of the birth, but the registration must be completed by the parents. This approach is considered less effective in ensuring high registration rates.Law Source
Sri Lanka Legal Analysis
While the BDRA does not assign a formal role to the health sector, a Ministry of Health circular issued in 2015 instructed all directors of health facilities to facilitate birth registration. Under this circular, the heads of health facilities are required to fill in a form (B148) with details of the birth (date, place, name, sex, weight and other data) and submit it to the Registrar. However, in practice, the B148 is filled in by hospitals and handed over to the family which, together with a form CR1 (filled out by family), submits both forms to the registrar of division for birth registration.
Law Source
What is the role of the health sector in birth registration for births occurring outside health facilities?
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
For births occuring outside a health facility and without a birth attendant, an effective approach for birth registraton would be if the law designated health workers (including vaccination workers, nurses, doctors and other health professionals who see newborns for paediatric visits) as informants to register the birth of children that are unregistered and visited by them.
If health workers (such as vaccination workers, doctors, nurses) see an unregistered infant, they can use the opportunity to register the child or assist with the registration process. Legislation should allow for health workers to act as informants or notifiers in these circumstances.
Sri Lanka Legal Analysis
In the case of community births or births occuring outside a health facility, the family must go to the Gram Niladhari (GN) who completes Form B23 and the family takes form B23 and CR1 (see above) to registrar to register birth.Law Source
Role of local leaders and other institutions
Does the law provide a process for the registration of births occurring in custody or other detention facility?
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
For births in custody, it is recommended that the legislation assign responsibility to a specified person, such as head of detention facility or head of health services within detention facility, to notify the civil registrar of births. The particulars of the process of notifying the registrar may be spelled out in regulations or instructions.Sri Lanka Legal Analysis
N/ALaw Source
What role do local leaders or local authorities have in the registration process for births that occur in the community?
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
For births occurring outside a health facility, local leaders or local authorities may have a role in providing parents with proof of the event (such as a birth notification record), notifying the birth to the local registrar, or acting as the informant. It can be good practice to Integrate civil registration functions with the duties and responsibilities of established local authorities who have close direct links to communities
Law Source
Sri Lanka Legal Analysis
The Gram Niladhari (GN) (a public servant who oversees a village) performs various functions in the administrative regime. Section 46 of the BDRA says the GN must inform himself of all births (and deaths) in his jurisdiction and report to Registrar in Form U (Birth report) within 7 days. In practice, the GN complete form B23 and gives a copy to the family, who then submits the copy with a completed CR1 form to the Registrar. Section 20 also states that births on estates (out of health facility) must be reported to superintendent of estate and not to the registrar by informants under Section 15. For estate births, the suprerintendent of estate becomes informant for birth registration to the District Registrar and not the registrar of division.