India will provide 100 additional fully equipped ambulances to Sri Lanka’s 1990 Suwa Seriya National Emergency Ambulance Service under a grant assistance package worth LKR 1,725.73 million, further strengthening the country’s emergency medical response capacity.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed and exchanged yesterday (11) between Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha and Health and Mass Media Ministry Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe.
The exchange took place in the presence of India’s Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilisers Jagat Prakash Nadda and Sri Lanka’s Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, during Nadda’s visit to Colombo for the inaugural BIMSTEC Health Ministers’ Meeting.
The initiative, following a request from the Sri Lankan leadership, aims to expand the existing ambulance fleet and improve emergency response times to under 10 minutes.
India’s assistance to the Suwa Seriya service dates back to July 2016, when it was launched in the Western and Southern Provinces with a US$ 7.5 million Indian grant. The assistance covered 88 ambulances, their operational costs for one year and the establishment of an emergency response centre.
In July 2018, the service was expanded islandwide with a further Indian grant of US$ 15.02 million. The second phase, launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, included 209 ambulances, operational expenditure and training costs.
India’s development cooperation in Sri Lanka’s health sector also covers a range of hospital development and medical assistance projects, including the construction of Dickoya Hospital, upgrading of Jaffna Teaching Hospital and hospitals in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya, and the establishment of a surgical unit at Batticaloa Teaching Hospital.
Ongoing projects include the development of Accident and Emergency facilities at Mannar District General Hospital, a medical ward complex at Mullaitivu District General Hospital and the provision of medical equipment to Deniyaya Base Hospital.
By Shanika Sriyananda
