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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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PM meets Sri Lankan community living in London

Published

9 mins ago

2026/05/21

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, who is currently on an official visit to the United Kingdom, met with members of the Sri Lankan community living in London on Wednesday [20th] and engaged in cordial discussions.

Despite the event being held on a weekday, it was notable that nearly one thousand Sri Lankans representing the Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim communities attended with great enthusiasm.

Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that despite natural disasters and international crises, the present government has succeeded in stabilizing the country’s economy while providing relief to the people. She further noted that Sri Lanka’s political culture has now undergone a positive transformation that is irreversible.

Minister of Women and Child Affairs Saroja Paulraj, addressing the event, stated that a governance system has now been established in the country where all communities are treated equally and the benefits of economic development are shared fairly among all citizens.

Moving away from the traditional method of political gatherings, the event also provided an open platform for members of the Sri Lankan community to directly raise questions and express their views to the Prime Minister and the Minister.

Commenting on the organization of the event, the organizing committee stated that all expenses, including dinner, were borne by the participants themselves. The organizers further remarked that it is unsurprising that opposition groups, accustomed to organizing such events through the misuse of public funds, appear unsettled by this transparent process.

The occasion was attended by the Minister of Women and Child Affairs Saroja Paulraj and Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Nimal Senadheera.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

Latest News

Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya meets Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom

Published

10 hours ago

2026/05/21

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya currently undertaking an official visit to London, United Kingdom, to participate in the 43rd Commonwealth of Learning (COL) Board of Governors Meeting 2026 held a bilateral meeting with the Yvette Cooper MP, Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom ON Wednesday [20]. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Nimal Senadheera, along with officials from the Sri Lankan High Commission.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister conveyed Sri Lanka’s appreciation to the United Kingdom for the support extended in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwa, including ongoing rebuilding and recovery assistance. The Prime Minister also commended the United Kingdom’s support in facilitating increased bilateral trade and exports for Sri Lanka.

The Prime Minister briefed the UK delegation on Sri Lanka’s recent economic developments and policy priorities, the Government’s commitment to advancing human rights and reconciliation, as well as Sri Lanka’s positive growth trajectory.

The two sides also exchanged views on current global geopolitical developments, challenges in the energy sector, and the importance of enhancing regional connectivity and long-term energy security.

Both sides also emphasised the importance of strengthening structured academic mobility frameworks while ensuring fairness, clarity, and integrity within migration systems.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries in areas of mutual interest.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

News

Suspects involved in sureties controversy granted bail

Published

16 hours ago

2026/05/21

Sahan Weerasooriya

Kapila Chandrasena

Airbus bribe case:

Colombo Additional Magistrate Lahiru Silva yesterday (20) granted bail to Mohamed Riswan and Mohamed Irshan, who allegedly received money to stand as sureties for the late former SriLankan Airlines CEO, Kapila Chandrasena. They were identified as residents of Sanchi Arachchi Watta, situated next to the Hulftsdorp court complex.

Chandrasena was found dead at his brother-in-law, Aravinda De Silva’s residence, at No. 38, Pedris Road, Kollupitiya, on 8 May.

The Magistrate also granted bail to B. A. Tissa and Perumal Ganesh, who arranged for Riswan and Irshan to stand as sureties for Chandrasena, who is under investigation for allegedly receiving a USD 2 million bribe through his wife to facilitate an Airbus deal. They, too, residents of Sanchi Arachchi Watta, were granted bail on two personal bail of Rs. 500,000 each.

Airbus had to pay USD 4 billion in penalties after admitting it had paid huge bribes to secure contracts in 20 countries. Sri Lanka is among them.

The Magistrate directed that the Grama Niladhari should certify their residence and the relevant certificates submitted to court and to establish the financial status of those who stood as sureties for the four persons.

The court was told that Mohamed Riswan and Mohamed Irshan obtained 17 Grama Niladhari certificates from January till May 2026. On the basis of a statement recorded from Keselwatta Grama Niladhari S. Nilantha Silva police informed court that the first suspect had obtained 10 certificates and the second person seven.

Fourth suspect Ganesh had first met those who stood as sureties, on 05 May, in the court premises and struck the deal. Crime OIC of Keselwatta Police, Sub Inspector K.W.D. Anuruddha, told court that Mohamed Riswan, Mohamed Irshan and B. A. Tissa hadn’t even known who Chandrasena was and were not related to him in anyway, according to investigations. Police requested that the four persons be further remanded.

The Magistrate granted them bail and set the next hearing for 25 June.

Legal sources said that such illegal practices were rampant, and in this particular case the Court Registrar should have been able to see that the sureties were very much unlikely to be relatives of Chandrasena.

By Shamindra Ferdinando