Sri Lanka’s state hospital network has been equipped with 18 new colposcopy machines to expand cervical cancer detection and early treatment, the Health Ministry said on Sunday.
Twelve of the machines have already been installed in hospitals across the country this year, with six more scheduled for installation next month. The Ministry said the total cost is Rs. 114 million and the rollout will increase the number of colposcopy machines in state hospitals from 15 to 33.
Colposcopy machines allow clinicians to examine the cervix and vaginal tract for abnormalities and identify pre-cancerous cells at a stage when treatment is most effective. The procedure typically follows an abnormal Pap smear result.
The newly installed machines are now operating at hospitals in Anuradhapura, Badulla, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Kurunegala, Kandy, Gampaha, Matara, Monaragala, Puttalam, Hambantota and the De Soysa Maternity Hospital in Colombo. A further six are scheduled for Ampara, Ragama, Kalutara, Kuliyapitiya, Matale and Vavuniya next month.
Cervical cancer is the fifth most common cancer affecting women in Sri Lanka, according to the National Cancer Control Programme. Around 1,200 new patients are diagnosed each year, and roughly 180 women die annually from the disease — largely due to late detection or inadequate treatment.
The expansion follows a broader cancer-care drive that included the recent assignment of four specialists to the Maharagama blood cancer unit and Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa’s Commonwealth cancer plan engagements in Geneva earlier this month.
