The certificate was hander over to the Minister by Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia.
During the event it also hounored the valiant efforts of thousands of health workers towards the country's success in achieving malaria elimination. Anti-Malaria Campaign staff, epidemiologists, health care workers, researchers and field workers were lauded for securing this public health milestone.
"Today we honour the dedication and commitment of countless individuals who played pivotal roles in Sri Lanka's elimination of malaria. In September 2016, I had the honour of receiving the WHO Certificate for Malaria Elimination on behalf of the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine. However, this was a collaborative effort, spanning many decades of work. We overcame great challenges and together, we succeeded. Thanks to your efforts, an untold number of lives have been saved and illnesses prevented. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all who contributed to Sri Lanka's success. The Government of Sri Lanka is committed and will continue to provide the required support to sustain the 'malaria-free' status," highlighted Dr Rajitha Senaratne.
"Sri Lanka's achievement demonstrates how mobilization of the health system's most important resource- health workers - can make ground-breaking public health gains possible. While good policy provided Sri Lanka's framework for success, the commitment of health workers across the country proved decisive in accelerating gains and eliminating malaria's scourge. Sri Lanka's example proves that malaria eliminatiori is possible, and must inform malaria control and elimination efforts across the Region and the world," said Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh.
Sri Lanka recorded the last indigenous case of malaria in October 2012. After 4 years of maintaining zero cases of indigenous malaria, Sri Lanka received WHO certification for having eliminated malaria.
Preventing re-introduction of malaria is the next big challenge for the country. The Anti-Malaria Campaign is working closely with security forces, airport authorities and international partners to screen high-risk populations entering the country to prevent importation of the disease. WHO is firmly committed to support the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine to keep Sri Lanka malaria free and build upon this public health success.
