President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has pledged to elevate Sri Lanka’s healthcare system to internationally recognised standards, stressing that the Government is ready to allocate the necessary funding to achieve this goal.
Addressing a pre‑Budget discussion on the Ministry of Health at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (08), the President said reforms must go beyond incremental changes, with greater emphasis on strengthening primary healthcare, modernising hospital technology, and ensuring efficient, standardised services accessible to all citizens.
The meeting reviewed the progress of projects implemented under the 2026 Budget allocations and discussed proposals for the 2027 Budget.
Progress of the programme to establish ‘Arogya Suwa Seva Centres’ to strengthen primary healthcare was reviewed during the discussion, and the President instructed officials to place greater emphasis on further strengthening primary healthcare services.
The meeting also reviewed, sector by sector, the progress of projects implemented under the Ministry of Health and Mass Media using 2026 Budget allocations, while funding requirements for 2027 were also discussed.
The President further instructed officials to submit, without delay, scientifically based strategic proposals aimed at improving the quality of Sri Lanka’s healthcare service.
Special attention was also paid to the technological transformation required within the hospital system. The President pointed out that establishing advanced technological facilities accessible to people across the country would significantly enhance the quality of healthcare services.
He noted that this would enable the State hospital system to provide efficient and standardised healthcare services while reducing the high costs incurred by the public when seeking treatment from the private sector.
Discussions also focused on strengthening the Suwa Seriya ambulance service and ensuring that hospitals procure only internationally compliant, fully equipped high-technology ambulances instead of conventional vans.
It was revealed that the current Government has recommenced 26 large-scale healthcare construction projects that had been suspended midway due to the previous governments halting capital expenditure. These include the five-storey building complex at the Monaragala District Hospital and Emergency Treatment Units at the Trincomalee, Ampara and Chilaw hospitals. In total, work is now under way on 48 healthcare construction projects.
The meeting also discussed technological solutions to address issues related to pharmaceutical procurement to ensure an uninterrupted supply of medicines to hospitals, expanding the Ministry of Health’s facilities for testing the quality of medicines, and programmes implemented with the support of organisations such as UNDP and UNICEF.
Progress on digital healthcare initiatives was also reviewed, including the Patient Health App, telemedicine services and the establishment of a National Electronic Health Record system, enabling patients’ medical records to be accessed from any hospital.
It was also decided to conduct a comprehensive review of the healthcare workforce, address issues faced by newly appointed doctors during the review process, and discuss recruitment-related issues concerning healthcare personnel with the Ministry of Finance.
The meeting further reviewed progress in providing physical resources to the Government Film Unit, journalist training programmes and the establishment of school media societies. Attention was also given to a proposal to establish a dedicated media operations centre to facilitate the exchange of information between the Government and all journalists.
The President also stressed the need to modernise the Department of Posts and the Government Printing Department by moving away from outdated systems and adopting modern technology. (Newswire)