A World Health Organization (WHO) expert team has arrived in Sri Lanka to review the country’s health system reform programme and draft recommendations for strengthening service delivery, the Ministry of Health said on Monday.
The delegation met Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa on April 20, with the review centred on the government’s programme to establish 1,000 Arogya Health and Wellness Centres to bolster primary healthcare. WHO Representative to Sri Lanka Dr. Rajesh Sambhajirao Pandav attended the discussion at the ministry. The team will remain in Sri Lanka until Friday, April 24.
Minister Jayatissa briefed the delegation on pilot projects and the drive to digitalise primary healthcare services. He said the main objective of the Arogya centres is to control non-communicable diseases, detect illnesses early and bring higher-quality services closer to villages.
According to the ministry, the centres are designed to offer NCD screening, early cancer detection, elderly and palliative care, specialised clinics, nutrition and counselling services and laboratory testing. Jayatissa also outlined staffing and the planned expansion of the project.
Discussions covered the scope for WHO technical and financial support for the digitalisation push, and how the expert review’s findings could be translated into a “more efficient and people-centred” service network.
The visit comes after Health Ministry data flagged NCDs as responsible for 83 percent of deaths in Sri Lanka, lending weight to the primary-care pivot. It also lands during a high-pressure period for the Ministry, following disruption from the GMOA strike earlier this month.
