Sri Lanka has inaugurated a new Port Health Office at the Port of Colombo, intended to strengthen the country’s ability to detect and prevent public health risks entering through its busiest seaport.
The facility was opened under the patronage of Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa and Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Akio Isomata, Ada Derana reported.
Speaking at the inauguration, Dr. Jayatissa said the project represents an investment worth more than Rs. 168 million and marks a significant step towards strengthening Sri Lanka’s border health security.
The newly constructed five-storey complex is designed to expand the port’s capacity for health inspections, disease surveillance, quarantine operations and emergency public health response. Its core functions include disease surveillance, rapid response to public health emergencies, and delivery of border health services in line with the International Health Regulations, the global framework that obliges states to detect and report events capable of crossing borders.
The building was constructed under a programme titled “The Project for Strengthening Capacity of Border Control for Responding to Infectious Diseases in Southwest Asia,” implemented by the International Organization for Migration with financial assistance from the Government of Japan.
Points of entry such as seaports and airports are designated under the International Health Regulations as front-line sites for containing cross-border disease transmission, requiring states to maintain permanent capacity for inspection, surveillance and response. The Port of Colombo handles the bulk of Sri Lanka’s maritime trade and transhipment traffic, making it the country’s most significant such entry point.
