Honourable Chair,
Director General,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ayubowan!
This year holds special significance for Sri Lanka as we commemorate 100 years of our Public Health System, a century of community-centred public health services that has become a cornerstone of our nation’s health achievements and social progress.
Despite limited resources, my country has achieved remarkable health outcomes through strong public health leadership, preventive care, and community outreach. We have significantly reduced maternal and child mortality, eliminated malaria, controlled communicable diseases, and achieved high immunization coverage and long-life expectancy.
However, we now face new and complex challenges, including the rapid rise of NCDs, population ageing, and increasing mental health needs.
In response, Sri Lanka has embarked on an ambitious Primary Care Reform agenda through our “Arogya Health and Wellness Centres.” These community-based - family - doctor-led multidisciplinary teams focus not only on treating illness, but also on promoting health, preventing disease, identifying risks early, and providing continuous, people-centred care close to where people live. Forty-one centres have already been established, with plans to expand to 300 by the end of this year and 450 centres in next year.
The reform prioritizes early detection of NCDs and common cancers, while strengthening elderly care, rehabilitation, palliative care, home-based services, adolescent health, and primary mental healthcare.
Guided by our National Policy on Health and Wellbeing and the National Health Strategic Master Plan, Sri Lanka is building a modern, wellness-oriented Primary Health Care model founded on a life-course approach to health.
Sri Lanka remains committed to working with all Member States and partners to build resilient, inclusive, and people-centred health systems that leave no one behind.
Thank you very much.