The Hon. (Dr.) Hansaka Wijemuni - Deputy Minister of Health

¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Deputy Chairperson.

¶ 02 We faced an unanticipated disaster, especially impacting several districts including Kandy. The acute phase is passing; we must now organize the next steps and be better prepared for future events. Sri Lanka ranks among the top ten countries most affected by climate variability, so such disasters will recur. Our duty is to end them with minimal harm, using advanced technology and knowledge, combined with our own experts’ insights, to plan and respond better.

¶ 03 In the first hours, water, electricity, communications and transport in major cities were crippled; fuel and food supply chains were disrupted. Step by step, we restored normalcy in many areas.

¶ 04 Health services faced big challenges: hospitals cannot function without power and water. The CEB prioritized restoring power to hospitals; the National Water Supply and Drainage Board prioritized water to hospitals—we bow our thanks. Police and security forces worked with dedication. Engineers from the CEB strung temporary lines even through forests; NWSDB executed repairs in extremely difficult conditions. Agencies supported one another—CECB engineers assisted NWSDB and CEB; local authorities repaired RDA roads first, then PRDA, then their own roads. That is how we operated.

¶ 05 Three hospitals—Halawatha, Mahiyanganaya and Wattegama Base—were rendered completely non-functional. Now Mahiyanganaya and Halawatha are back in operation. Wattegama Hospital will be relocated within the same area; temporarily it functions from the MOH Office. We plan to relocate eight other facilities within their own localities. The estimated damage to the health sector is Rs. 2,113.5 million—lower than CEB/NWSDB losses, but still substantial and requiring similar spending to rebuild.

¶ 06 A major current challenge is maintaining good health in relief camps. Despite initial difficulties in food and sanitation for the first two or three days, we have had no outbreaks reported in camps; displaced people are being kept in good health—this is a collective achievement beyond the health sector alone.

¶ 07 Our doctors, nurses and minor staff worked with minimal facilities and great dedication. We are discussing how to make our country more resilient to such disasters. Professors at the University of Peradeniya’s Engineering Faculty commenced a scholarly dialogue on rapid weather warnings and how to communicate them within hours via AI and other technologies, including estimating inundation levels. We aim to deploy such a system in coming months, especially along the Mahaweli basin. The National Building Research Organisation faces a huge workload—more than 8,000 sites to assess with limited staff. We proposed—and they agreed—to draw on geologists and engineers elsewhere through professional bodies to expedite assessments. We thank the Director-General for going beyond routine departmental processes.

¶ 08 On other points raised: an operating bed from Padaviya Hospital was temporarily sent to Thambuttegama while repairs are underway at Thambuttegama; Padaviya currently lacks surgeons to perform operations, and the bed will be returned once repairs are done. On pharmaceuticals and related issues, we are acting legally and systematically, and will respond as needed. We are at the end of the first stage of this disaster—let us face the long-term challenges in an organized, united way, strengthen the country for recurring events, and move forward. Thank you.