India has agreed to provide 100 additional fully equipped ambulances to Sri Lanka’s 1990 Suwa Seriya Emergency Ambulance Service under a grant worth Rs. 1.72 billion.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the initiative was signed and exchanged between Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha and Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Mass Media Dr. Anil Jasinghe in Colombo on Wednesday (11).
The agreement was exchanged in the presence of Indian Minister of Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda and Sri Lankan Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, during the first BIMSTEC Health Ministers’ Meeting in Colombo.
According to the Indian High Commission, the initiative follows a request from the Sri Lankan leadership and aims to strengthen the existing Suwa Seriya ambulance fleet while improving emergency response times to under 10 minutes.
The 1990 Suwa Seriya service was initially launched in July 2016 in Sri Lanka’s Western and Southern Provinces with Indian grant assistance of USD 7.5 million.
The initial project included 88 ambulances, operational expenses for one year and the establishment of an emergency response centre.
In July 2018, the service was expanded islandwide by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, supported by an additional Indian grant of USD 15.02 million.
The second phase included 209 ambulances, operational expenses and training costs.
The Indian High Commission said the latest assistance forms part of India’s continued development cooperation in Sri Lanka’s healthcare sector.
Other Indian-supported health projects include the construction of Dickoya Hospital, improvements to Jaffna Teaching Hospital and hospitals in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya, and a new surgical unit at Batticaloa Teaching Hospital.
Ongoing projects include the development of accident and emergency facilities at Mannar District General Hospital, a medical ward complex at Mullaitivu District General Hospital and the provision of medical equipment to Base Hospital, Deniyaya. (Newswire)