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2025-03-05

News Categories : Committee News 

Ministerial Consultative Committee on Health and Mass Media meets for the first time in the first session of the Tenth Parliament

The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Health and Mass Media met for the first time in Parliament on 04.03.2025 under the chairmanship of Hon. Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa. The Hon. Deputy Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr. Hansaka Wijemuni and Hon. Deputy Speaker, Dr. Rizvie Salih were also present on the occasion.

Members of Parliament drew the attention of the Committee to the issues existing in hospitals and related issues across the island. Accordingly, the Committee discussed the issue of repairing the existing defects in the ambulances currently parked in hospitals. The Hon. Members inquired from the officials about the legal conditions for repairing those defective ambulances on a private level without any cost to the government. Accordingly, the relevant officials informed the Committee that they are ready to look into the situation and inform the Hon. Members as soon as possible.

Addressing the meeting, the Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Mass Media, Dr. Anil Jasinghe, said that it is appropriate to establish maintenance units at the provincial level for vehicles required to carry out minor maintenance work at the Ministry of Health, and accordingly, it is expected to start such a unit in the Western Province as an initial step.

The committee also discussed the establishment of a pharmacy in the Batticaloa district. Accordingly, the officials said that after identifying the relevant location and land area, the pharmacy will be established and completed as soon as possible. In addition, the committee's attention was also drawn to the construction of hospitals in the Eastern Province. Accordingly, the committee said that the government has given priority to the prompt completion of the construction of hospitals whose construction has not been completed. Furthermore, during this discussion, attention was also drawn to the shortcomings existing in regional hospitals, the shortage of doctors, and the transfers of doctors.

The Committee also discussed the activities of the Ministry of Mass Media. Accordingly, the members asked the officials whether the broadcasting of the Rajarata Regional Radio would continue. Accordingly, the officials informed the Committee that at present, Rajarata Radio is broadcasting amidst many difficulties and no decision has been taken to stop it. The officials also said that plans have been made to bring the radio back to a higher level. The members emphasized that a large group of artists and scholars are ready to voluntarily contribute to the Rajarata Radio Service and that a formal mechanism should be developed to join them.

The MPs suggested that this Ministerial Consultative Committee, which has two different scopes, should be held in two sessions rather than one session. The Committee chairperson, in response, said that it was difficult to discuss the two scopes of the Ministry in a formal manner within a short period of time and that, as suggested by the MPs, it was expected that the two relevant scopes would be discussed separately in the future.

Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Members of Parliament including the Committee Members and a group of officials headed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Mass Media, Dr. Anil Jasinghe were present at this meeting.



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