India will provide 100 more fully equipped ambulances to Sri Lanka’s 1990 Suwa Seriya Emergency Ambulance Service under a grant worth Rs. 1.72 billion.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed and exchanged in Colombo on Wednesday by Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha and Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Mass Media.
The exchange took place in the presence of Indian Minister of Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda and Sri Lankan Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, during the first BIMSTEC Health Ministers’ Meeting in Colombo.
According to the Indian High Commission, the grant follows a request from the Sri Lankan leadership. It aims to strengthen the existing Suwa Seriya ambulance fleet and to improve emergency response times to under 10 minutes.
The High Commission said the assistance forms part of India’s continued development cooperation in Sri Lanka’s health sector.
Background
The 1990 Suwa Seriya service was launched in July 2016 in the Western and Southern Provinces with Indian grant assistance of USD 7.5 million. That first project covered 88 ambulances, operational expenses for one year and the setting up of an emergency response centre.
In July 2018, the service was extended islandwide by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, backed by a further Indian grant of USD 15.02 million. The second phase included 209 ambulances, operational expenses and training costs.
The Indian High Commission listed other Indian-supported health projects in Sri Lanka. These include the construction of Dickoya Hospital, improvements at Jaffna Teaching Hospital and at hospitals in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya, and a new surgical unit at Batticaloa Teaching Hospital.
Projects still under way include accident and emergency facilities at Mannar District General Hospital, a medical ward complex at Mullaitivu District General Hospital and the supply of medical equipment to Base Hospital, Deniyaya.
What it means
The service is reached by dialling 1990 and operates across the island. The additional vehicles are intended to add to the existing fleet, and the stated aim is for emergency response times to fall below 10 minutes.
The statements released so far do not say when the 100 ambulances will be delivered or in which districts they will be based. Readers can expect those details to be announced by the Health Ministry and the Indian High Commission.
