DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRAR GENERAL

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Location Southern Asia, island in the Indian
Ocean, south of India
The Country
Map references Asia
Area Total 65,610 sq km Land
62,705 sq km Water 2,905 sq km
Mid.Year Population - 2010 Total
20,653,000 Male 10,249,000 Female
10,404,000 Life expectancy -
2006 Male 71.7 years Female 76.4
years Literacy (Age15 24 Yrs.)-2007 Total
97.5 Male 96.9 Female 98.1
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DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRAR GENERAL

• MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND HOME AFFAIRS

www.rgd.gov.lk ESA/STAT/AC.219/11
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Our Mission "Our mission is the Registration of
Legal documents pertaining to Movable and
Immovable Properties in Sri Lanka and
Registration of Marriages, Births and Deaths,
the primary domestic events of the populace the
preservation of such documents and the issue of
certified copies there from at request and
thereby assisting the populace to protect their
rights."
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REGISTRAR GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT
ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
Civil
Registration
Registrar General
Addl-R.G
Dist.Sect./Addl.R.G(25)
Div.Sec/Dist.Registrar (330)
Div.Registrar (914)
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Administrative Structure
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• Civil Registration.
• Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths
  (Including such events of Sri Lankans abroad.)
• Registration of court orders on adoption of
  children and re-registration of
  births of such children.
• Registration of Kandyan Marriages and Divorces.
• Registration of Muslim Marriages Divorces.
• Preparation of vital statistics in respect of
  births, marriages and deaths

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Administrative system of Civil Registration and
Vital Statistics system

• Ministry of Public Administration Home Affairs

Ministry of Finance Planning
Registrar Generals Department
Department of Census Statistics
Vital Statistics Unit
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Legal requirements for registering
death/specifying cause

• Registration of births, deaths and marriages was
  initiated under the Dutch rule 1640-1798
• First British Enactment on registration of
  births, deaths and marriages in 1815 Regulation
  No.07 (Maritime districts only)
• Second British Enactment on registration of
  births, deaths and marriages in 1822 Regulation
  No.09 (Maritime districts only)
• General system of registration of birth and death
  to cover all districts 1847 Ordinance N0.06
• Provisions affecting the registration of births
  and deaths were replaced by Ordinance No.18
  1867 and 1868 Registration remained optional
• Registration of births and deaths became
  compulsory in 1897
• The present law Births and deaths Registration
  Act 1951

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Current Vital Registration System

• Decentralized
• 9 Provinces
• 25 Districts
• 330 Divisional Secretaries Divisions
• 914 Birth Death Registration Divisions
• Births Deaths are registered by
• Medical Registrars - in proclaimed towns
• Birth and Death Registrars other towns
• Birth, Death and Marriage Registrars villages

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Vital Statistics Data Collection System
Vital Statistics Unit
Coding, editing and processing data
33 Scanning Centers
Scanning Returns
Collecting and checking accuracy and completeness
330 Divisional Secretaries
914 Birth Death Registration Divisions
Completing Returns on Birth and Death
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Vital Statistics Data Collection System

• Single form for each marriage/birth /death
• Format to be used for scanning
• Should be completed at the time of registration
• Information on Cause of death obtains from the
  original records
• Verbal autopsy form for obtaining cause of death
  occur at homes
• Should be handed over to the DS office before 10
  th of each month by registrars

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Birth Returns
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Death Returns
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Vital Statistics Data Collection System

• Completed forms are checked for the completeness
  and companied with the second copy of the
  marriage/birth / death
• Should be handed over to the scanning unit of the
  Land Registry in each following month

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• Scan the documents -
• Statistical Returns
• B 33 form which contains the cause of death
  certificated by the Doctor
• B 18 form which contains the cause of death
  certified by the Inquirer into Sudden Death

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• Send the duplicates to the Central Record Room
• Send images of scanned documents to the VSU

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Transferring information

• From Registrars to Divisional Secretaries
  Offices completed Statistical Returns
• From Divisional Secretaries Offices to District
  Scanning Unit checked Statistical returns
• From District Scanning Unit to the Vital
  Statistics Unit - through e-mail / CDs

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Vital Statistics Processing System
Formless Document systems
Scanning Centers (District
Offices)
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Vital Statistics Processing System
data
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Who should report the birth

• The Medical Officer of the Gov.hospital (3
  Months)
• Medical officer of the private hospital (3
  Months)
• Grama Niladari (7 days)
• Parents
• Occupant

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Who should report the death

• The Medical Officer of the Gov.hospital (3
  Months)
• Medical officer of the private hospital
  (3 Months)
• Grama Niladari (7 days)
• Judicial officer
• Occupant

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Main Indicators derived by VS for Monitoring and
Evaluation of the health sector

• Infant Mortality Rate
• Child Mortality Rate
• Maternal Mortality Rate
• Age - specific Mortality Rate
• Cause - specific Mortality Rate

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Indicators are not 100 accurate due to -

• Under coverage of death registration in
  rural areas
• Incompleteness of the information included in
  statistical returns
• Inaccuracy of information on cause of death

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Possibilities of under registration of death

• Some hospitals where the Medical Registrars are
  not available
• Some estates from which the deaths do not report
  in time to the Medical Officer
• Some of the Inquirers into Sudden Deaths do not
  send their reports to the Registrars directly
• Some persons do not get any interest to registrar
  deaths due to unawareness of the importance of
  registering a death and also the deceased person
  has nothing to claim

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VS data cannot released in time

• Delay in receipt of statistical returns from D.S
  office to the VS unit
• Delay in handovering statistical returns from
  registrars to D.S.offices

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Deaths are registered on the place of occurrence

• 914 Birth and Death Registration Divisions
• Out of the above 65 are called as medical
  registrars divisions located in the major
  hospital premises
• A death Should be informed to the relevant
  Registrar within 5 days after the death
• But registration can be done within 3 months time
  period at the Registrars Office on the
  declaration make by the informant/relatives
• After 3 months and before one year the
  registration should be done after an inquiry held
  at the District Registrars Office
• After one year the report of the inquiry should
  be examined and approved by the Zonal Assistant
  Registrar General

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If the death occurs at a Government Hospital -

• It is the responsibility of the Medical Officer
  in-charge of the hospital to give information
  regarding events occurring in such hospital
• Private hospitals are considered as a residence
  and the responsibility of registering the death
  rests on the relatives of the deceased

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If the death occurs at homes -

• The obligation for giving information rests on
  the nearest relative present at death
• The Grama Niladhari (Administration Officer at
  the village level) has to inform to the
  Registrar and the relevant person also has to go
  to the Local Registrars Office with the document
  issued by the Grama Niladhari
• Even the death can be registered without
  informing to the Grama Niladhari, if the Register
  is satisfied with the information is 100 percent
  correct

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If the death occurs at an estate -

• An estate means any land of which 100 or more
  acres are under cultivation and which is situated
  in a district declared under the Medical Wants
  Ordinance to be an Estate Medical District
• Births, deaths and still births that occur in
  estate scheduled under the Medical Wants
  Ordinance are registered by the District
  Registrar of the division in which such estates
  are situated
• The Superintendent of the Estate is required by
  law to furnish reports of deaths and still births
  to the appropriate District Registrar/Divisional
  Secretary through the District Medical Officer

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If the death occurs of a Sri Lankan living abroad

• Provisions exists in the Consular Act (No.4 of
  1981) for registration of birth, death and
  marriage to be registered at the Sri Lankan
  Diplomatic Missions in the relevant country
• Certain officers in such diplomatic missions are
  Additional District Registrars of Marriages,
  Births and Deaths

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Death Reporting
Process
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(No Transcript)
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Ways of deaths are registered

• 45 of deaths are registered on the document
  issued by the doctor with proper cause of death
• 25 are registered on the document issued by the
  Inquirer into sudden deaths no proper cause of
  death given most of the time
• 30 of deaths are registered on the declaration
  made by the relatives of the deceased cause of
  death?

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Completeness of Coverage of Death Registration
Sector 1953 1967 1980
Urban 94.7 100.0 92.9
Rural 86.9 91.7 92.2
Estate - 100.0 100.0
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Possibilities of under registration of death

• Some hospitals where the Medical Registrars are
  not available
• Some estates from which the deaths do not report
  in time to the Medical Officer
• Some of the Inquirers into Sudden Deaths do not
  send their reports to the Registrars directly
• Some persons do not get any interest to registrar
  deaths due to unawareness of the importance of
  registering a death and also the deceased person
  has nothing to claim

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Steps taken to make the death registration 100

• Amending the Birth Death Registration Act and
  make new rules and regulations to make the death
  registration compulsory
• Introducing awareness programmes to the public
  posters , leaflets, hand books and other
  communication programmes
• Increase the penalty for non registration of
  events

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THANK YOU !
D.P.Rajapaksa Senior Statistician Vital
Statistics Unit Registrar Generals
Department Sri Lanka.