(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –In Sri Lanka, we plan to ensure that every citizen has a family doctor to look after his or her health, Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said.
Speaking atthe 144th Executive Board Meeting of the WHO now being held in Geneva, he said Sri Lanka’s free healthcare delivery package is increasingly geared towards minimising patients’ expenditure. “Towards this end, we are in the process of promoting public–private partnerships (PPPs), presently in pharma production, and soon to be extended to healthcare service delivery,” he said.
According to Minister Senaratne, Sri Lanka has implemented specific field-tested strategies, including the PEN package (package of essential non-communicable disease interventions), to lessen patients’ expenditure, and has shown some degree of success.
Minister Senaratne said globally, countries have achieved a lot in healthcare delivery, over the last few decades, in the process of eliminating a range of communicable diseases.However, they are yet to mitigate the growing challenge posed by non-communicable diseases – a major challenge for the whole world, with no country being spared.
