(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – Health Minister Mr. Keheliya Rambukwella says that the price of medicines can expected to be reduced by 10% to 15% in the next week compared to the appreciation of the rupee relative to the dollar.
He also said that the Ministry of Finance and the Accounting Department of the Ministry of Health have started discussions regarding the extent to which the price of medicines can be reduced.
The Minister said this while addressing the media after the national ceremony held yesterday (17) at Polgolla Mahinda Rajapaksa Auditorium on the occasion of International Nurses Day.
He emphasized that with the increase in the value of the dollar, the price of medicine has increased significantly and the Ministry of Health always tries to give the people the advantage of the drop in the value of the dollar.
The Minister said the pharmacies point out that they have to bear a very high electricity bill as the pharmacies where drugs are stored must be air-conditioned and emphasized that attention should also be paid to these matters when reducing the price of drugs.
Mr. Rambukwella said that the program of starting private wards in government hospitals is being implemented promptly and instead of looking at it positively and presenting ideas and suggestions, some people are making baseless criticisms based on political and other needs.
In Sri Lanka, International Nurses Day has not been celebrated at the national level before this year, and this is the first time that Nurses Day was celebrated nationally by the Ministry of Health.
The theme of this year’s International Nurses Day is “Our Nurses Are Our Future”. A statue of Florence Nightingale, who made a great commitment to nursing, was also paid tribute to, and many special programs were implemented to appreciate the nursing staff.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Keheliya Rambukwella, speaking at the ceremony pointed out that the extent of the public service provided by nurses was seen during the last Covid epidemic.
Appreciating the services of the 41,000 nurses in Sri Lanka, the Minister pointed out that it is very important to be able to celebrate a Nurses Day like this for the first time in Sri Lanka and said that the President and the cabinet have decided to never reduce the services provided for the health and education sectors.
