Amidst chaos in health sector The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has sought President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s intervention to reach a consensus on a new salary structure, according to the President’ Office.The meeting took place amidst a rapid deterioration of the public health sector, plagued with severe shortage of medicine and equipment and with some hospitals […]

The Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation, Nimal Siripala de Silva, went on record a few days ago saying that if all the pilots in SriLankan Airlines leave, he will get foreign pilots to replace them. He stated this at a joint programme of CAASL and IATA on Aviation Day at Katunayake on Friday, July […]

By Jayantha Somasundaram (This articlecontinued from yesterday (25) is based on reporting by the international media on the events in Sri Lanka forty years ago.) “For day after day Tamils were beaten, hacked or burned to death in the streets, on buses, on trains – sometimes in the sight of horrified foreign tourists. Their homes […]

One hundred and seventy five (175) of the 852 Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) owned busses which have been out of service for nearly three years due to the shortage of spare parts have been repaired at a cost of Rs 300 million. Of the 175 buses which have been made roadworthy, 15 buses will […]

By Saman Indrajith The SJB yesterday commenced collecting signatures for a no-confidence motion against Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa announced to the House that his party had decided to move a no confidence motion against Health Minister Rambukwella and invited others to support it. Premadasa commenced the signing of the motion […]

While sitting in a car on Duplication Road one evening around 6 pm in a traffic jam, it occurred to me that if an alien being happened to pass by, she would be intrigued as to why Sri Lankans are so fond of Colombo that they are prepared to sacrifice so much in order to […]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed the Ministry of Health to expedite the approval process for drugs endorsed by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).

By Shamindra Ferdinando The Government Medical Officers’ Forum (GMOF) yesterday (13) pointed out that India couldn’t absolve itself of the responsibility for the alleged supply of low quality Indian medicines to Sri Lanka under the USD 1 bn credit line opened over a year ago. GMOF President Dr. Rukshan Bellana said so, referring to the […]

Babarandage Don Sarath Appuham, a 59-year-old fisherman, has worked at Negombo Lagoon since he was a teenager. Palpable differences in tide patterns and fish catches from climate change have complicated his work. “We used to always go at 9am, then 1pm. It’s no longer that predictable,” Sarath told Al Jazeera. They have to gauge conditions […]

Medical Faculty Students Action Committee alleges that there is a severe shortage of lecturers in every medical faculty in the country.

By Dr. C. S. Weeraratna (csweera@sltnet.lk) Poverty is a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, such as food, shelter, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, and education. Various criteria are used to measure poverty. The most commonly used is based on incomes. A person is considered poor if his or her income level […]

Udeni Kaluthantri, a 54-year-old port worker, became an overnight sensation last year for reasons that had nothing to do with his job. Days after protesters stormed the presidential palace in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, a video surfaced of Mr Kaluthantri lounging on a bed draped with the presidential flag. Pictures of young men jumping […]

Attempts made by SriLankan Airlines to recruit foreigners had failed due to low pay and high taxes here, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MP Dayasiri Jayasekera told Parliament on Friday (07).He said that the management of SriLankan and the line Minister were encouraging pilots to leave the airline. “The dispute between pilots and the management […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita The government must establish an institution to entertain complaints from patients about problems with drugs or services and a mechanism to investigate these complaints, President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS) Ravi Kumudesh says. The Laboratory Technologist had also demanded an investigation into the death of a 35-year-old woman following […]

Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella states that the government has introduced a program in order to prevent a shortage of medicines in the future.

By Norman Palihawadane Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena says that traders fleece the consumers by jacking up prices as well as selling substandard food while the Consumer Affairs Authority officials are preoccupied with egg raids.  “I informed President Ranil Wickremesinghe of this problem. The Consumer Affairs Authority is there to ensure the protection of consumers’ rights. It is the mecha...

Three hundred out of 1,400 medical graduates who completed internship in April this year had not accepted appointments as doctors here, former JVP MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said at a seminar in Colombo recently. Dr. Jayatissa said some medical graduates from local universities had not even completed internship. Around 1,700 medical doctors have left the […]

By Chaminda Silva SriLankan Airlines and Fits Air operating international flights from here, have sought permission to hire foreign pilots, Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka Director General and Chief Executive Officer P. A. Jayakantha said addressing an event at the Aviation Authority Both airlines have a serious shortage of pilots, he said.A large number […]

Laugfs Gas PLC, one of Sri Lanka s two largest suppliers of domestic Liquefied Petroleum (LP) gas, has assured that there is no gas shortage in the country, despite certain rumors.

Through the facility established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka, Michelin Foundation channels support to procuring essential medicine given the ongoing socio-economic situation in the country and to address the identified drug shortage as highlighted by the Ministry of Health in Sri Lanka.