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Prof. Malavige complains of vaccine apartheid

Published

5 years ago

2021/09/1

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Developed countries were hoarding close to 4.5 billion doses of Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines and those vaccines would expire soon, Prof. Neelika Malavige of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, said on Monday delivering the 16th Sujatha Jayawardena Memorial Oration.

Prof. Malavige said that 1.7 billion Pfizer and Moderna doses each and 1.1 billion AstraZeneca vaccines were being hoarded and most of those would be wasted soon.

“These developed nations must share these vaccines at a time when billions of people are vulnerable,” she said.

Commenting on restrictions imposed by Europe and the USA on those vaccinated with Sinopharm, Professor Malavige said that for Europe, Chinese tourists were extremely important and that it would be interesting to see what the Europeans could do once travel restrictions were lifted.

Prof. Malavige said that countries should exercise ceaseless vigilance when dealing with COVID-19 and learn from the mistakes other nations had made.

“Countries that were congratulating themselves for handling the pandemic well like Vietnam, are seeing a surge. On Sunday (29), there were around 13,000 new cases and over 300 deaths in Vietnam. Everyone makes mistakes, but we need to learn and move forward. It is important to be proactive, not reactive,” she said.

Sri Lanka had hitherto been reactive in dealing with the virus. The authorities and the public took drastic measures when the number of cases and deaths were high, however, overall, there had not been a strategy, she said.

“We had tamashas in April, when we had detected the Alpha variant in the country. We took measures too late and saw a rapid surge.

Then we went into a lockdown and during the lockdown we detected the delta variant in Colombo. What you must realise is that the University of Sri Jayewardenepura does limited number gene sequencing. So if we found one, it’s safe to assume that there are hundreds or even thousands in the community. Then we relaxed restrictions in June, but there are questions as to whether we did this scientifically. We soon saw significant surges and now we are in lockdown again,” she said.

Prof. Malavige said that Sri Lanka needed to plan, anticipate and act swiftly to control the spread of COVID-19. Sri Lanka had a number of experts in modelling in all fields and the government should reach out to experts in all relevant fields and come up with an effective strategy. She said that since it was a social and economic issue as well as a health issue, a multi-disciplinary approach should be taken with expert modelers from sociology and finance consulted.

Prof. Malavige also spoke of the need for data. It was not hard to collect data and Sri Lanka had many experts in that field.

“Think of dengue. We get outbreaks and when we see outbreaks, we take steps to curb them. We need data to know when and where COVID clusters emerge, allocate resources and control these. We need accurate data to educate the people and win their trust,” she said.

Sri Lanka had good vaccine coverage and that 99% of Sri Lankan children were vaccinated, which was higher than even the most advanced nations. “This has been achieved by continuous and effective communication. Vaccination is the long term solution for COVID and Sri Lanka needs to have a proper public education program. Vaccination can only be successful by empowering the public and community engagement”, she said.

“In recent years, we see viruses transmitted from animals to humans. As human interactions with wild animals, deforestation and climate change intensified, we will see more such transmissions. Therefore, environmental and animal health too must be considered to protect human health in the future” Prof. Malavige urged.

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The government is implementing a comprehensive programme to restore the livelihoods of fishermen and businesses affected by Cyclone Ditwah – PM

Published

3 hours ago

2026/06/10

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the Government has implemented a comprehensive programme to assist the fishing community and micro, small, medium, and large-scale entrepreneurs affected by Cyclone Ditwah in rebuilding their livelihoods.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while responding to questions in Parliament on Tuesday (09) regarding the relief measures introduced for those affected by the disaster.

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated:

“The Ministry of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources has initiated a special assistance programme for both marine and inland fishermen affected by Cyclone Ditwah. Under this programme, new fishing vessels will be provided to replace those that were completely destroyed, while partially damaged vessels will be repaired. The distribution of fishing nets to eligible fishermen has also commenced.

To support the recovery of businesses damaged by the cyclone, the Government has introduced a concessional loan scheme carrying an annual interest rate of 3 per cent. The programme, with a total allocation of Rs. 10,000 million, is being implemented through 15 banks. As at 28 April 2026, loans amounting to Rs. 3,812 million had been disbursed to 2,800 entrepreneurs. The scheme offers a repayment period of up to three years, including a six-month grace period, with the objective of enabling businesses to resume operations without delay. Applicants are required to obtain recommendations from the Grama Niladhari and the Divisional Secretary certifying that the business was operational before the cyclone and that it was affected by the disaster.

The Prime Minister further stated that, on the instructions of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, licensed banks have granted a moratorium on loan repayments and waived penalty interest until 31 January 2026. The Prime Minister also emphasized that compensation payments to affected entrepreneurs are continuing in accordance with the relevant ministerial circulars and disaster relief guidelines.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

News

Formulation of a Draft Economic Development Bill to expedite the process of Digital Transformation and Digital Economic Development

Published

12 hours ago

2026/06/10

Priyan

It is essential to establish an institutional framework with legal powers to ensure the effective implementation of national digital policy and guidelines.

Quality human capital should be attracted to this institutional framework for the compilation of policies, implementation of policies, regulation, and empowerment of operations. The continuous participation of the private sector should also be considered in establishing a strong institutional framework.

It has been further identified that attention should also be
drawn to new fields of digital innovation, including support for artificial intelligence and related activities.

Taking into consideration the aforementioned matters, a concept paper has been formulated to prepare a Draft Economic Development Bill for the establishment of a new institutional framework.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Digital Economy to instruct legal draftsman to formulate a Draft Economic Development Bill based on the aforementioned concept paper.

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Cabinet approval for Sri Lanka Community and Health Survey – 2026/2027

Published

13 hours ago

2026/06/10

Priyan

The Sri Lanka Community and Health Survey is the main data source for obtaining necessary information for reviewing progress toward achieving the national health development goals, as well as the expected sustainable development goals by 2030.

The last survey was conducted in the year 2016, and the Sri Lanka Community and Health Survey should be conducted to obtain updated data to enable the collection of related data and indicators concerning the health and well-being targets of the Global Sustainable Development Objectives.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development to take necessary steps to conduct the aforementioned survey.