News
Australia and UNICEF deliver essential equipment for COVID-19 response to Lanka
UNICEF, with the support of Australia, has procured and delivered the second consignment of urgently needed oxygen concentrators and other vital equipment to the Ministry of Health in support of Sri Lanka’s ongoing response to Coronavirus (COVID-19).
This second consignment of equipment includes 203 oxygen concentrators, 100 oxygen flow splitters, 42 infusion pumps, 47 syringe pumps, four ventilators, 1000 regulators, over 137,000 bacterial and viral filters and other vital equipment.
Supplies were officially handed over to Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella by Acting High Commissioner, Amanda Jewell, and UNICEF country representative, Christian Skoog.
The first consignment of medical equipment was handed over to the Ministry of Health in May 2021.
The Minister expressed his gratitude for this contribution from Australia towards the battle against Covid-19 and the macro healthcare system. The Minister stated that healthcare of the highest quality remains a mainstay of the Government of Sri Lanka’s focus. Donations such as these pay homage to that notion.
This critical support, funded by Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through UNICEF, aims to ease the strain on the country’s health care system due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Acting Australian High Commissioner, Amanda Jewell said, “Australia is proud to support Sri Lanka with urgently needed life-saving medical equipment in the fight against COVID-19. This is the second consignment of essential equipment that Australia has gifted to the Ministry of Health through UNICEF in response to the critical needs identified in the country.”
Australia’s overall package of support to Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 response totals AUD 11.7 million (LKR 1,787 million) and is focused on bolstering health security, promoting social cohesion and stability for Sri Lankan communities, and supporting economic recovery.
“This lifesaving equipment enables health workers to provide the treatment and care needed, not only for COVID-19 but also other diseases that afflict the population, especially women and children”, said Christian Skoog, Representative, UNICEF Sri Lanka. “Using its procurement expertise to deliver such supplies where they are needed most in a timely manner, UNICEF is glad to be making this important contribution to Sri Lanka’s response to the pandemic”
Among the existing medical service providers, the equipment will be distributed to: the Teaching Hospital, Ratnapura; Castle Street Hospital, Colombo 08; Provincial Department of Health Services, Ratnapura; Kethumathi Hospital, Panadura; the Medical Supplies Division and the Bio Medical Unit of the Ministry of Health. This will help sustain the critical COVID-19 response of the Ministry of Health through its various response facilities.
The book “Rathuwewi Mihimadala”, written based on the life story of Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Leader of the Democratic Left Front, was launched on Friday [August 28] at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo, with the participation of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.
Speaking to the media afterwards about Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated:
“Vasudeva Nanayakkara is a prominent figure in Sri Lankan politics, particularly within the left-wing political movement. There were several influential figures within the left movement, and that left-wing influence also contributed to bringing the country to where it is today. Politically, there were areas where we agreed and areas where we did not. However, I have great respect for the contribution made by Vasudeva Nanayakkara to left-wing politics. When I entered Parliament in 2020, Vasudeva Nanayakkara was also in Parliament. We sat in the same row, and we spoke about many important as well as interesting moments in his political career. I believe some of these experiences have also been included in this book.”
The event was attended by members of the Maha Sangha, Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara, former President Maithripala Sirisena, former Speakers Karu Jayasuriya and Chamal Rajapaksa, as well as party members, family members and friends.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
Latest News
Sun directly overhead Mannar, Periyamadu, Puliyankulam, Welioya and Pulmoddai about 12.11 noon today (30)
The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.
The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (30) are Mannar, Periyamadu, Puliyankulam, Welioya and
Pulmoddai about 12.11 noon.
(AFP) Sri Lanka’s maritime authorities were monitoring a fleet of 11 US-sanctioned Iranian oil tankers just off the island’s southern coast, the foreign minister said Wednesday.
The tankers were spotted close to the Galle harbour where an Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, was sunk by a US submarine in March, killing 104 sailors. Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors from that frigate.
Iranian vessels have been in limbo, unable to return to their home port because of a US blockade.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign minister Vijitha Herath said the tankers were in international waters where they had freedom of navigation.
“These ships are away from our territorial waters… we have no hold on them, nor have we facilitated them,” Herath told AFP.
The military deployed reconnaissance aircraft and patrol boats to monitor the vessels outside Sri Lanka’s 12-nautical-mile territorial waters, a military official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“There is no indication of any ship-to-ship transfer of oil or illegal discharge of pollutants, so there is no basis for Sri Lankan authorities to take action against them,” the official said.
Many Iranian merchant vessels moved east towards the Strait of Malacca and Singapore due to US sanctions, while several remained near Sri Lankan waters, authorities said.
Sri Lankan officials said Washington had not formally notified Colombo about sanctioned Iranian-flagged vessels
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