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Sri Lanka, Maldives achieve Hepatitis B control

Published

2 years ago

2024/01/18

Maldives and Sri Lanka had achieved hepatitis B control, the World Health Organization announced yesterday after an expert panel verified that the two countries have had consistently high coverage of hepatitis B vaccine doses in infants and a low prevalence of the deadly disease, corroborated through serological surveys conducted recently in both countries.

“I congratulate and commend Maldives and Sri Lanka on their achievement which once again demonstrates the earnest efforts being made by the health leaders and officials, health workers and the people of these countries towards health and well-being of communities,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director WHO South-East Asia.

The Expert Panel for Verification of Hepatitis B Control in WHO South-East Asia Region reviewed childhood immunization data from Maldives and Sri Lanka that showed consistent over 90% coverage with Hepatitis B vaccine doses provided during infancy for past many years. The experts also reviewed the findings of national surveys conducted among children in 2022-2023, in these countries.

“Based on the evidence presented to it, the Expert Panel concluded that the standards required for verification of Hepatitis B control have been met in both these countries and hence recommended that this important public health target has been achieved in Maldives and Sri Lanka”, said Dr Supamit Chunsuttiwat, chairperson of the Regional Expert Panel for verification of Hepatitis B control in South-East Asia.

The two countries join Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Thailand, who achieved the same feat in 2019.

Preventing Hepatitis B infection in infancy substantially reduces chronic infections and cases of liver cancer and cirrhosis in adulthood.

Hepatitis control continues to be an important public health initiative in the South-East Asia Region of WHO that comprises of 11 countries and is home to a quarter of the world’s population. The Region has an estimated 60 million people living with chronic hepatitis B and 218,000 dying every year of hepatitis B and C. Of the persons eligible for antiviral treatment only about 10% know their status and less than 5% of them are on treatment.

In 2016, the South-East Asia Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group endorsed a regional goal of hepatitis B control with a target of reducing hepatitis B prevalence to less than 1% among children aged at least 5 years.

Hepatitis B vaccine, as a part of the pentavalent vaccine, has been included in the national childhood immunization schedule of all countries of the Region, with three doses of this vaccine provided to children during their first year of life. Eight countries of the Region also have a policy of providing a birth dose of Hepatitis B vaccine to the newborn babies.

The Region made good progress in improving immunization coverage of the pentavalent vaccine until 2019. However, there was a decline in the coverage in several countries of the Region in 2020 and 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Intensive efforts in countries have resulted in the revival of childhood immunization coverage to pre-pandemic levels in several countries and the WHO and UNICEF estimates for 2022 show that the overall coverage of 3rd dose of pentavalent vaccine has recovered to the pre-pandemic level of 91% in the Region, a sharp increase from 82% coverage level reported in 2021.

Dr Khetrapal Singh said that countries also need to focus on improving the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose which continues to have a relatively slow uptake with an estimated coverage of only 58% in the Region in 2022. One of the key barriers for achieving high hepatitis B vaccine birth dose coverage remains the high proportion of home deliveries, that do not allow timely access of the Hepatitis B vaccine to these newborns, she said.

Inequities in immunization service delivery, suboptimal awareness and/training of health staff at birthing facilities; particularly in terms of false contraindications and/or fear of adverse events following immunization also contribute to sub-optimal coverage of Hepatitis B vaccination coverage, the Regional Director said.

The control of hepatitis B through immunization is a priority for our Region. Achieving the control goal is a critical step as we progress towards elimination of mother to child transmission of the hepatitis B virus, she said.

WHO’s “triple elimination initiative” encourages countries to simultaneously commit to such elimination together with HIV and syphilis – further pushing the agenda for integrated service delivery.

“Hepatitis must be prevented and treated. In addition to vaccination, continued efforts are needed to scale up other preventive measures such as safe injection, safe blood and infection prevention and control,” the Regional Director said. (WHO)

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Tri-Forces donate LKR. 372 million, a day’s pay of all ranks to ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund

Published

31 mins ago

2026/01/3

Priyan

Members of all ranks from the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force have collectively donated a day’s basic salary to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, which was established to restore livelihoods and rebuild the country following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.

Accordingly, the total contribution made by the Tri-Forces amounts to LKR. 372,776,918.28.

The cheques representing the financial contributions were handed over on Wednesday (31 December) at the Presidential Secretariat to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.

The donations comprised LKR. 250 million from the Commander of the Army, Major General Lasantha Rodrigo; LKR. 73,963,879.71 from the Commander of the Navy, Rear Admiral Kanchana Banagoda and LKR. 48,813,038.97 from the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Vasu Bandu Edirisinghe.

Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, was also present on the occasion.

News

CEB demands 11.57 percent power tariff hike in first quarter

Published

3 hours ago

2026/01/3

Thilina Walpola

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has submitted a proposal to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) seeking an 11.57 percent increase in electricity tariffs for the first quarter of 2026, citing an estimated revenue shortfall and additional financial pressures, including cyclone-related damages.

According to documents issued by the PUCSL, the proposed tariff revision would apply to electricity consumption from January to March 2026 and includes changes to both energy charges and fixed monthly charges across all consumer categories, including domestic, religious, industrial, commercial and other users.

Under the proposal, domestic electricity consumers would face increases in unit rates as well as fixed monthly charges across all consumption blocks.

The CEB has estimated a deficit of Rs. 13,094 million for the first quarter of 2026, which it says necessitates the proposed 11.57 per cent tariff hike. The utility has noted that any deviation from this estimate whether a surplus or a shortfall will be adjusted through the Bulk Supply Tariff Adjustment (BSTA) mechanism and taken into account in the next tariff revision.

In its submission, the CEB said the proposed revision is aimed at ensuring the financial and operational stability of the power sector and mitigating potential risks to the reliability of electricity supply. The board-approved tariff structure for the first quarter of 2026 has been submitted to the PUCSL for approval and subsequent implementation, as outlined in Annex II of the proposal.

The CEB has also highlighted the financial impact of Cyclone Ditwah, which it said caused extensive damage to electricity infrastructure, with total losses estimated at around Rs. 20 billion. Of this amount, Rs. 7,016.52 million has been attributed to the first quarter of 2026, which the utility said has a direct bearing on electricity tariffs.

The CEB warned that if external funding is not secured to cover the cyclone-related expenditure, the costs incurred would need to be recovered through electricity tariffs in the second-quarter revision of 2026.

Meanwhile, the PUCSL has said that a decision on whether to approve the proposed tariff increase will be made only after following due regulatory procedures and holding discussions on the matter.

By Sujeewa Thathsara ✍️

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Health Minister sends letter of demand for one billion rupees in damages

Published

3 hours ago

2026/01/3

Thilina Walpola

Ondansetron controversy

Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr Nalinda Jayatissa has sent a letter of demand for Rs. 1 billion in damages from YouTube content creator Dharmasri Kariyawasam, accusing him of disseminating false and defamatory material linking the Minister to the importation of Ondansetron and inciting public unrest.

The notice, sent through the Minister’s lawyers, states that investigations are currently under way into 10 medicines, including Ondansetron Injection, manufactured by India-based Maan Pharmaceutical Limited.

Ondansetron Injection was among nine injectable drugs recently suspended by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) following reports of patients administered with the drug suffering adverse complications.

Despite the ongoing investigations, Kariyawasam allegedly aired a widely viewed programme on his YouTube channel titled “The hidden story of the Indian drug that claimed lives, Mayor Balthazaar’s relative, and Minister Nalinda’s cover-up.”

According to the letter of demand, the programme falsely portrayed Minister Jayatissa as being directly responsible for importing the drug, colluding with the supplier, and attempting to conceal the issue, while depicting him as indifferent to public suffering.

The Minister’s lawyers maintain that these allegations are entirely false and defamatory, citing passages in which Kariyawasam allegedly accused Jayatissa of lying about the supplier, concealing facts related to PTC Medicals (Pvt) Ltd., the actual importer, and showing a lack of concern over deaths purportedly linked to the drug.

The programme also claimed links between the directors of PTC Medicals and family members of Colombo Mayor Vraîe Cally Balthazaar, implying political favouritism.