President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday said the 2027 Budget will prioritise strengthening Sri Lanka’s public healthcare system with the twin objectives of improving service quality and reducing the cost burden on patients who seek treatment from the private sector.
Chairing the pre-Budget discussion on the Ministry of Health and Mass Media at the Presidential Secretariat, the President said the Government was prepared to allocate the necessary funding to elevate Sri Lanka’s healthcare services to internationally recognised standards.
A key focus of the 2027 Budget will be strengthening primary healthcare through the proposed ‘Arogya Suwa Seva Centres’, with the President directing officials to place greater emphasis on expanding frontline health services across the country.
He also called for an accelerated technological transformation of the State hospital system, noting that establishing advanced medical facilities accessible nationwide would significantly improve the quality of healthcare while enabling public hospitals to provide more efficient and standardised services. The President said this would help reduce the high costs borne by the public when seeking treatment from private healthcare providers.
The President instructed officials to submit scientifically based strategic proposals without delay to improve the quality of Sri Lanka’s healthcare system.
The discussion also focused on strengthening the Suwa Seriya ambulance service, with the President directing that hospitals procure internationally compliant, fully equipped high-technology ambulances instead of conventional vans.
Officials said the Government has recommenced 26 large-scale healthcare construction projects that had been suspended after previous administrations curtailed capital expenditure. These include the five-storey building complex at Monaragala District Hospital and Emergency Treatment Units at the Trincomalee, Ampara and Chilaw hospitals. In total, work is now under way on 48 healthcare construction projects.
The meeting also reviewed technology-driven reforms to pharmaceutical procurement to ensure uninterrupted medicine supplies, the expansion of medicine quality testing facilities, and progress on digital health initiatives including the Patient Health App, telemedicine services and a National Electronic Health Record system.
In addition, officials discussed a comprehensive review of the healthcare workforce, issues affecting newly appointed doctors, and future recruitment requirements in consultation with the Ministry of Finance. The pre-Budget discussion also reviewed budget priorities relating to the Mass Media sector, including journalist training, the Government Film Unit, school media societies, a proposed Government media operations centre, and the modernisation of the Department of Posts and the Government Printing Department.