The 79th session of the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia Regional Committee opened in Dili, Timor-Leste, with health ministers and senior officials from across the region attending, NewsFirst reported.
Sri Lanka’s delegation is led by Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, Minister of Health and Mass Media, who chairs the committee. He was elected chairperson at the 78th session in Colombo in October 2025 and continues in the role until a successor is elected during this session.
What the minister told the session
Jayatissa used his address to list the threats he said now cut across national borders in the region: climate change, dengue outbreaks, ageing populations, growing chronic illness, pressure on health workforces, and the impact of digital platforms on children.
“This session comes at a significant time for our region,” he said, noting that member states differ in geography, population, economic circumstances and health systems but increasingly face the same problems.
He named demographic ageing, non-communicable disease, persistent and emerging infectious disease, climate change, health emergencies, workforce shortages and rapid technological change as the forces shaping the region’s health systems — while arguing that states remain united by one objective: that everyone can obtain the health services they need without financial hardship.
“The decisions taken by this committee reflect our collective will and carry both authority and responsibility,” he said. “No country has all the answers, but every country has experiences and lessons that can contribute to strengthening health across our region.”
Sri Lanka’s pitch rests on its own hosting year
Jayatissa pointed back to two outcomes of the Colombo session Sri Lanka hosted:
- The Colombo Declaration on Healthy Ageing, which recognised the need for stronger primary healthcare, people-centred services, multi-sectoral action and age-friendly environments
- A regional resolution on health humanities in professional education, arguing that scientific and technological excellence must be matched by empathy, compassion and respect for human dignity
“Our health systems must remain centred on people,” he said.
He tied both to domestic policy — the forthcoming National Policy on Health and Wellbeing Sri Lanka 2026–2035, and the Arogya Health and Wellness Centres now being rolled out. He noted that Sri Lanka this year marked 100 years of organised community health services.
The dengue line lands at home
Jayatissa named dengue outbreaks as a regional threat while the domestic count continues to rise. Sri Lanka passed 96,000 cases and 73 deaths this year, with the control unit warning the risk has not passed.
The delegation
NewsFirst listed the delegation as Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Dr. S. Sreedharan and Dr. S. M. Arnold, Senior Professor of Genetics and Biomedical Informatics Vajira H. W. Dissanayake, and Dr. Janaki Vidanapathirana.
The outlets differ on Jasinghe’s title. NewsFirst describes him as Director General of Health Services; the Health Ministry’s own pre-departure announcement, carried by Ada Derana and the Daily Mirror, listed him as Ministry Secretary. NewsFirst also spells the deputy director-general’s name Sreedharan, against Sridharan in the ministry list.
Not reported
NewsFirst did not report the outcome of the election of new office-bearers, or whether Jayatissa has now handed the chair to a successor. It did not say whether the Dili Declaration on equitable access to specialised care — the session’s principal deliverable — was tabled or adopted, and gave no text or scope for it.
Neither report covered WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was expected to attend, or any of the bilateral meetings the ministry had scheduled for the opening day with the Maldivian, Indian and Bangladeshi health ministers. No other Sri Lankan newsroom had carried the address at the time of writing.
