Hon. (Dr.) Hansaka Wijemuni - Deputy Minister of Health and Mass Media

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, our Ministry unifies four sectors: Health, Indigenous Medicine, Mass Media, and Postal. A unique feature is that all four run 24 hours a day. We are proud of our workforce.

¶ 02 This is a special, people-centred budget. Retirees receive unprecedented recognition. A person retiring now can opt to retire under the 2027 formula, effectively doubling benefits.

¶ 03 Previously neglected social groups receive priority: children with substance use issues, children with special needs, and persons with mental health conditions. Attention is also given to the prison population. Within the Ministry, we have focused both on our staff’s needs and those of all service users.

¶ 04 We invite health professionals to analyse this Budget scientifically. Though it is a compassionate Budget, professionals should examine it rationally as they practice evidence-based methods. That approach will help us find solutions to many issues.

¶ 05 Health allocations are framed under four pillars: - Infrastructure development - Human resource development - Medicines and equipment - Research and development

¶ 06 On infrastructure, we have begun re-orienting the health system. The Budget provides for preserving the dignity of health professionals and ensuring patients receive services with dignity and self-respect. Many hospitals lack basic facilities like proper rest rooms and changing rooms for staff; we will address this. For patients, we will improve bed availability, sanitation, and nutrition.

¶ 07 We will reduce surgical waiting lists. The President has directed us to utilise the Presidential Fund, in coordination with the Ministry, to clear backlogs in cataract, cardiac bypass, and orthopaedic joint replacement surgeries. That programme is underway.

¶ 08 We are upgrading our health information systems. Better data systems benefit both patients and professionals. We also emphasise equity of access across the country; we do not build hospitals based on any single Minister’s or the President’s district but according to national needs.

¶ 09 On human resources, there is a significant shortage. No significant recruitments (other than doctors) occurred over the last three years. We have expedited recruitments and provided for quality improvement and training.

¶ 10 For the first time in about a decade, this Budget substantially increases the basic salary across all health professions. It would have been easier to add small allowances as before, but we chose to strengthen the basic pay. Technical adjustments follow from that. Our goal is not to freeze the economy; it will expand, and those gains will flow to every health professional—well before 2027 if possible. Do not be misled by statements from various quarters. Trust that we will not implement anything harmful to the health professions. Many of us, including myself with 25 years as a doctor, came to Parliament from within this Ministry. We study every circular and union demand. We will take every step to keep our health professionals at the top, including internationally.

¶ 11 On medicines and devices: four main institutions manage pharmaceuticals: - SPC (State Pharmaceuticals Corporation) – imports - SPMC (State Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Corporation) – local manufacture - NMRA (National Medicines Regulatory Authority) – regulation - MSD (Medical Supplies Division) – distribution and orders

¶ 12 MSD compiles hospital requirements and places orders with SPC/SPMC. Lead times are around nine months. Due to past economic conditions, 2023–2024 orders were not properly placed. We have now secured all orders for this year as of January—the first time in history—and started the 2026 tender cycle.

¶ 13 We anticipate some issues and have set up weekly Drug Review Committee meetings chaired by the Minister or myself—unprecedented—to foresee potential shortages and act early. If a medicine is out of stock in hospitals, patients can obtain it from private pharmacies under approved arrangements. In sudden national shortages, we source government-to-government; for example, consignments are arriving from India. For chronically problematic items, we will convert to more secure state-to-state procurements.

¶ 14 On price mechanisms: We have cleared large backlogs in new registrations and re-registrations at NMRA, cutting queues from about 2,200 to around 400, breaking some monopolies and yielding major savings. Examples: - Papaverine injection fell from Rs. 76,000 to Rs. 370. - Immunoglobulin vials previously bought at Rs. 120,000 (with serious quality concerns) are now procured around Rs. 30,000, saving about Rs. 200 million on that tender alone. - Cefuroxime, previously at about USD 1.97 (~Rs. 570), was last procured at Rs. 70, saving roughly Rs. 900 million on that tender.

¶ 15 Rabies vaccines and sera are available; recent claims of absolute unavailability are incorrect. We achieved about Rs. 350 million savings on anti-rabies serum and Rs. 300 million on Enoxaparin. Across four key drugs, the difference totals about Rs. 1,750 million. We aim to return significant savings to the Treasury.

¶ 16 Retail prices did not drop in private pharmacies recently due to a court order that suspended the National Price Committee for about 15 months. We have now built the proper legal framework for a price control mechanism and will shortly gazette it and seek to have the court order lifted, after which we expect significant, clear price reductions in pharmacies.

¶ 17 Regarding anastrozole for cancers: there has been no shortage in the past six weeks; earlier there was an issue. Currently we have about two months’ stock. Of 803 essential medicines, 285 are domestically manufactured; we will add about 40 more shortly and target at least 50% local manufacture within about a year and a half. We have also removed taxes on packaging materials required for local medicines. We export to approximately 57 countries.

¶ 18 On research and development: Historically, institutions like the MRI did mostly lab work. We will fund ground-impact health research through this Budget.

¶ 19 This is not a copy-paste Budget; it follows a clear plan and is the Government’s first, not final, budget. Economic and allowance-related measures can be adjusted as we progress. We ask everyone to join us with confidence.

¶ 20 Thank you.