The Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa — Minister of Health and Mass Media
The Minister said future engagements with health officials in Batticaloa should include all relevant Members of Parliament. He stated that the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation currently operates about 65 Osusala outlets, with four opened since the new Government took office, but expansion depends on whether operating costs can be recovered because there is no separate Treasury allocation. He said an outlet would first be opened in Batticaloa town, with further expansion considered step by step, giving attention to needs in the Northern and Eastern Provinces to improve access to lower-priced medicines.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Member, I had informed some Members that I would meet health officials in Batticaloa; I agree it is best if all Members are associated in such engagements.
¶ 02 At present, there are about 65 SPC-operated Osusala outlets. Since assuming office, we started four new outlets. When opening new outlets, we consider whether the deployed costs can be recovered promptly, as there is no separate Treasury allocation to SPC for Osusala; we do this from funds for pharmaceutical procurement. Therefore, we will first open in Batticaloa town and thereafter progress step by step according to need. We acknowledge the need and will incorporate your proposal into our plan, with particular attention to the Northern and Eastern Provinces so people can access medicines at lower prices.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 22 July 2025 ·No. 1753443916033328 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa — Minister of Health and Mass Media. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 22 July 2025. No. 1753443916033328. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/13563