High Commissioner of Sri Lanka, Senarath Dissanayake, met the Director of the SingHealth International Collaboration Office, Ms Vijaya Rao and the Manager of the SingHealth International Collaboration Office Ms Irene Ang, on 09 September 2024 with the aim of strengthening ongoing partnerships and exploring new avenues for collaboration in healthcare. SingHealth is the largest group of healthcare institutions in Singapore, comprising a network of public hospitals, national speciality centres, and polyclinics. This meeting served as a follow up to the meeting held between the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka and Singapore’s Minister of Health, H.E. Ong Ye Kung in July. Minister/Head of Chancery of the Sri Lanka High Commission, Ahamed Razee, also joined the discussion.
During the meeting, Ms. Rao provided an overview of the long-standing relationship between SingHealth and the Ministry of Health of Sri Lanka, pursuing mutual commitments to sustainable healthcare partnerships and impactful initiatives. She emphasized SingHealth’s close engagement with Sri Lankan universities and hospitals to enhance the capabilities of healthcare professionals in Sri Lanka and to advance research efforts.
She underscored that a major milestone of this partnership was the inauguration of the Jaffna Regional Collaborating Centre (RCC), attached to the Jaffna University, Sri Lanka in May 2024. The RCC was developed in conjunction with SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute with the aim of fostering global health research partnerships, driving innovation, and improving clinical competencies in Sri Lanka’s healthcare workforce.
The High Commissioner inquired about the possibility of obtaining further assistance in Sri Lanka’s capacity-building needs in the health sector through training programmes and sharing technological expertise.
In response, the Director of SingHealth International Collaboration Office reiterated SingHealth’s willingness to partner with Sri Lanka’s progressive journey towards healthcare and collaborate on projects in key areas, including joint research and education initiatives and healthcare development activities.
It was agreed to explore the possibilities of arranging programmes for medical professionals to share best practices in healthcare administration, hospital design and planning, health economics, patient safety, and research in public health strategies and policy making. As part of the collaboration roadmap, upcoming initiatives will include specialized training programmes and a visit by a Sri Lankan delegation to Singapore to strengthen knowledge exchange and cooperation.
High Commission of Sri Lanka
Singapore
11 September 2024
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