Colombo,Oct. 13 (Daily Mirror) - Sri Lanka is to strengthen its disease surveillance and preparedness for pandemics and other public health emergencies under a project funded by the Epidemic Fund, with 35 activities to be implemented during the 2026-2028 period.
The Cabinet has approved a proposal submitted by the Minister of Health and Mass Media to implement the activities under the Integrated One Health Pandemic Preparedness and Response Strengthening Project.
The project includes improving the physical infrastructure of the National Public Health Research Laboratory at the Medical Research Institute, using a grant of Rs. 4,785 million from the Health Epidemics and Response Strengthening Project and a further Rs. 646 million in funding from the Government of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka signed an agreement on March 20, 2025, to receive a grant from the Epidemic Fund, a partnership involving donor countries, co-investors, foundations and civil society organisations. All activities under the grant are expected to be completed by March 31, 2028.
Although Sri Lanka has made significant progress in controlling communicable diseases and providing maternal and child health services, with vaccination coverage exceeding 95%, the COVID-19 pandemic and other zoonotic health emergencies exposed gaps in the country's preparedness and response systems.
These gaps were identified in both the human and animal health sectors, highlighting the need for a coordinated approach to disease surveillance and pandemic preparedness.
Accordingly, an action plan covering the 2026-2028 period has been prepared in consultation with the funding organisations to address the identified shortcomings.
The proposed activities also include establishing the Sri Lanka Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, which is expected to be financed through funding from the Asian Development Bank.