Sri Lanka and Singapore aim to enhance cooperation in healthcare services

The High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Singapore Senarath Dissanayake met with the Director of the SingHealth International Collaboration Office Vijaya Rao and the Manager of the SingHealth International Collaboration Office Irene Ang recently. The purpose of the meeting was to deliberate on the ongoing partnerships between the two countries while exploring new avenues for collaboration in the healthcare sector.

SingHealth is the largest group of healthcare institutions in Singapore, comprising a network of public hospitals, national specialty centers, and polyclinics. This meeting was a continuation of the previous meeting held between the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka and Minister of Health of Singapore 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.

High Commissioner Dissanayake inquired about the possibility of obtaining further assistance in addressing Sri Lanka’s capacity-building needs in the health sector through training programs and sharing of technological expertise.

The Director in response SingHealth’s willingness to partner with Sri Lanka’s progressive journey towards healthcare and in particular to collaborate on projects related to joint research, education initiatives and healthcare development activities. Furthermore, it was agreed to arrange programs 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 policymaking. As part of the collaboration roadmap, upcoming initiatives will include specialized training programs and a visit by a Sri Lankan delegation to Singapore to foster cooperation and the exchange of knowledge.