India Hands Over Three-Tonne Consignment of Anti-TB Medicines to Sri Lanka

Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha handed over the medicines to Sri Lankan Minister of Health and Mass Media Nalinda Jayatissa on Wednesday.

Jha said the medicines would support Sri Lanka's efforts to treat and control tuberculosis while strengthening the country's broader response to the disease.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had earlier said that around three tonnes of anti-TB medicines were transported to Colombo aboard an Indian Air Force C-130J aircraft on September 28. He had reiterated India's commitment to supporting Sri Lanka's public health infrastructure.

India has also extended assistance to Sri Lanka's healthcare infrastructure. On September 16, work began on a new two-storey Accident and Emergency Unit at the District General Hospital in Mannar with financial support from the Indian government.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Health and Mass Media Minister Nalinda Jayatissa and High Commissioner Santosh Jha attended the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the facility.

The project is being supported through an Indian grant of Sri Lankan Rupees 600 million and will include essential medical equipment aimed at improving emergency care, particularly during the critical early period following a medical emergency.

Jha said the Mannar hospital project reflected the longstanding partnership between India and Sri Lanka and the two countries' focus on people-centric development.