Post-mortem mandatory for child deaths under five years of age

• The decision was also made to improve Sri Lanka’s health indicators following its triumph with low maternal mortality rate   
• Each post-mortem costs about Rs. 15,000

The Ministry of Justice and National Integration has made post-mortem examinations mandatory for all deaths of children under the age of five.   In a circular issued to coroners, the ministry emphasised that this measure is a critical part of Sri Lanka’s efforts to strengthen child death analysis. It was reported that the move aims to identify common causes of mortality among young children and to implement precautionary measures to prevent such deaths. 

Authorities also said this decision was also made to improve Sri Lanka’s health indicators following its triumph with low maternal mortality rate Currently, post-mortems are conducted only when a child’s death involves suspected harm, suspicious circumstances, or accidents. However, the new law would require internal examinations for all children under the age of five, even in cases where medical professionals have already determined the cause of death.

Experts have lately criticized the policy as unnecessarily invasive, noting that a post-mortem is not always needed when the death is not suspicious. They also pointed out that each post-mortem costs about Rs. 15,000, making routine examinations a significant waste of resources.