A discussion chaired by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has broadly scrutinized the allocations made for 41 institutions under four departments of the Ministry of Health and Mass Media, as well as the progress of projects implemented accordingly.
The meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday saw a review of the projects implemented under the 2025 budgetary allocations for the Ministry of Health and Mass Media, together with a pre-budget discussion for the year 2026.
During the discussion, the President instructed officials to focus special attention in the upcoming budget on strengthening primary healthcare services. He also reviewed the ongoing programme for developing Primary Health Centres. It was revealed that currently, one Primary Health Centre operates per 30,000 people; the plan is to improve one centre per 10,000 people.
Discussions were also held on organisational and structural reforms in the health service to match current technological and social conditions. Attention was also focused on the construction works within the health sector and the issues that have emerged there.
The meeting addressed the key issue of medical equipment procurement and considered updating procurement guidelines, including those applicable to the Ayurvedic sector. Plans to enhance the facilities of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority to ensure the quality of medicines purchased were also discussed.
The President instructed officials to ensure that essential vehicles required for services such as the National Blood Transfusion Service are acquired within this year itself.
He further emphasised the need for transformation not only in the physical resources of the health service but also in human resources, in response to technological advancement and population growth. It was also noted that a new National Health Policy and Strategic Plan are scheduled to be launched next year.
The President pointed out the importance of effectively using foreign aid and grants to deliver the intended benefits to the people and suggested that issues arising at the provincial level be resolved through dialogue.
Attention was also drawn to ensuring the credibility of health-related donations, with a proposal to introduce a digital mechanism that confirms reliability for both donors and recipients.
It was revealed that the “Suwa Seriya” ambulance service, currently operating at 272 locations across the island, is expected to be further expanded to 400 locations.
Plans relating to the Ministry of Mass Media were also discussed. The President stated that intervention to shape social attitudes is a responsibility of the state media. Accordingly, he instructed officials to present a plan to engage state media in this process, with allocations to be set aside for this purpose in the upcoming budget.
An extensive discussion was also held on modernising the Postal Service to suit present-day requirements. The need to transform it into a new model by integrating courier services and similar facilities with modern technology was underlined.
The President noted that the problem in the past had been insufficient budgetary allocations for necessary projects. However, in contrast, the most recent budget has allocated adequate provisions for all sectors. He stressed the importance of properly utilizing these allocations during the financial year for the intended projects so that the public receives the maximum benefits. (Newswire)
