Maharashtra Mandates Private Hospitals to Report Under-5 Deaths Within 24 Hours
On June 3, 2026, the Maharashtra state government mandated all private healthcare facilities, including trust hospitals and nursing homes, to report the deaths of children under the age of five within 24 hours to local health authorities. The directive, issued via a government resolution by the public health department, aims to tackle the under-reporting of early childhood deaths in areas across Mumbai, including localities like Bandra, and the wider state.
According to the government resolution, while data from public health institutions is accurately recorded on the Civil Registration System and the Health Management Information System, records from private healthcare institutions are not being captured accurately. The state government noted that significantly fewer child deaths are currently being registered in private healthcare facilities compared to public institutions.
Maharashtra currently has a neonatal mortality rate of 11 per 1,000 live births and an under-5 child mortality rate of 16 per 1,000 live births. However, public health department officials stated that these figures do not present an accurate picture of early childhood mortality due to persistent under-reporting by private entities.
Under the new mandate, private hospitals must comply with the strict 24-hour reporting window for under-5 child mortality. Additionally, these facilities are required to log the data on a monthly basis on central tracking portals, such as the Health Management Information System, to improve the tracking, monitoring, and analysis of early childhood deaths.
Private practitioners and administrators have responded to the new directive. A city-based paediatrician denied that under-reporting was an issue, pointing out that any patient who passes away is only taken to the cemetery after a treating doctor issues a death certificate, which automatically makes the death notifiable.
Meanwhile, a medical administrator at a top trust-run hospital in Bandra stated that their facility already enters the required data into the system every month. The administrator added that if there is an issue with data capture, it is not because of the hospital's reporting practices.
