World is faced with three major crises food, energy and finance that have threatened the health sector.In many countries private healthcare contributes an insignificant part of health expenditure which would further burden the Government sector and this makes it absolutely necessary to safeguard the investments in health, Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said at the 62nd World Health Assembly held in Geneva recently.

Minister de Silva said that the achievement of millennium development goals was a difficult task in the face of the financial crisis. In terms of nutrition in Sri Lanka millennium development goals are yet to be achieved. Nutrition and immunization had not adversely affected the South Asia region and communicable diseases, particularly polio, avian flu, HIV were also important and were potentially critical leading to pandemics.

He pointed out that Sri Lanka had been seriously affected by the present global financial crisis and Sri Lanka’s main exports such as tea, rubber, coconut and cinnamon were now fetching very low prices in the world market. The demand for finished goods such as garments was declining and would have serious repercussions in the financial sector.

Minister de Silva further said that despite these economic setbacks and high defence expenditure the Government had not compromised on the investments in the health sector. The total budgetary allocation for the health sector for 2009 was Rs.87 billion and it was Rs.67 billion in 2008. President Mahinda Rajapaksa had stated that the healthcare system of Sri Lanka was vibrant due to the personal commitment of the President.

He said that UN agencies, private public partnerships and NGOs had strengthened the health systems in many developing countries. Leading global financial agencies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank are responsible to find innovative ways and means to bridge the gaps that would be created by the financial crisis.