In a powerful demonstration of how responsible business, public healthcare and civic leadership can work together for national good, Sri Lanka this week renewed its commitment to eliminating cervical cancer through an expanded screening programme backed by corporate funding, Rotary leadership and the Ministry of Health.

The initiative, supported by Dilmah, the Rotary Club of Colombo, the Family Health Bureau and the Sri Lanka Cancer Society, aims to strengthen nationwide HPV DNA screening, public awareness and prevention efforts at a time when cervical cancer continues to claim hundreds of lives annually despite being one of the most preventable forms of cancer.

Dilmah Chairman/CEO Dilhan C. Fernando said the programme reflects the values of his late father, Merrill J. Fernando, who believed companies exist not merely to generate profit, but to create lasting value for society.

He added:”Businesses do not exist to make profit. Businesses exist to create value. Value begins with people and livelihoods, continues through nature, and only then earns the right to secure economic value.”

Fernando announced a fresh commitment of Rs. 50 million this year, which will fund 20,160 screenings, following an earlier Rs. 75 million pledge made in January 2024 under a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Ministry of Health and Rotary.

“That value may seem like a big number, but it is insignificant when you consider that it has saved thousands of women from the scourge of cancer,” he said.

He described the continued deaths from a preventable disease as deeply troubling.

“Learning that so many women were losing their lives annually to cervical cancer was something really quite abhorrent to us,” Fernando said.

Representing the Rotary Club of Colombo, K.R. Ravindran said the campaign is proof that strategic partnerships can change national health outcomes.

“This is not a discussion. This is a promise of early detection,” Ravindran said. “Cancer, especially cervical cancer, does not arrive with a bell ringing or a warning. It whispers, and so often by the time it is heard, it is too late.”

He said Rotary’s own experience operating early detection centres for breast, cervical and oral cancer had shown the life-saving value of screening.

“Early detection is not just saving lives. It transforms fear into hope, into possibility,” he said.

Ravindran noted that Sri Lanka’s economic crisis had once threatened to halt testing services because of shortages in funding for diagnostic kits, but private sector intervention prevented disruption.

“Without the money, the whole thing would have gone awry. That is when Dilmah stepped in,” he said.

“They did something far greater than simply giving money. They made scale possible. They made continuation possible. They made impact possible.”

Ravindran expressed confidence that Sri Lanka can become one of the first countries in the world to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health threat by 2030, citing the nation’s literacy, public health network, school vaccination system and midwife service.

“I think this country can become one of the first countries to be rid of this disease,” he said.

Consultant Community Physician Dr. Nadija Herath of the Family Health Bureau said cervical cancer is caused mainly by persistent infection with the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), but can be prevented through vaccination and early detection.

She said Sri Lanka’s Well Woman Clinic programme, launched in 1996, screens women primarily in the 35 and 45 age groups, and is now expanding the use of HPV DNA testing, which is more accurate than conventional cytology methods.

“The most important thing about this cancer is that it is preventable,” Dr. Herath said. “If pre-cancerous changes are identified early, they can be fully treated and women can live normal lives.”

She said new funding would also support outreach clinics, especially in workplaces and underserved areas.

President of the Sri Lanka Cancer Society Anoja Karunaratne said awareness remains a major challenge, with stigma and fear discouraging many women from seeking screening.

“We need to take this message beyond hospitals and clinics—into schools, workplaces, religious institutions and community groups,” she said.

She stressed that women should view screening as a routine part of healthcare rather than something to fear.

Speakers at the event said the collaboration stands as a model for corporate Sri Lanka, showing how businesses can contribute meaningfully to national wellbeing.

Fernando praised Sri Lanka’s healthcare system for continuing to innovate despite adversity.

“Whatever anyone may say about systems or governance, the fact is Sri Lanka’s healthcare system has an enviable track record,” he said.

By Ifham Nizam