The Government is considering key improvements to the Ministry of Health’s procurement guidelines to address systemic gaps that have contributed to medicine shortages in public hospitals, Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa informed The Sunday Morning.
Dr. Jayatissa explained that while corrective measures had already been taken to streamline tender processes and ensure the arrival of ordered medicines, a lack of flexibility in the current procurement framework continued to hinder timely responses to unexpected shortages or quality failures.
“We are currently working strictly according to the procurement guidelines. The current medicine shortage is a direct result of the poor implementation of tender processes last year. We have since rectified those errors, resolved tender issues, and placed new orders in full compliance with the existing guidelines,” the Minister stated.
“However, we face a gap. If, for any reason, there is a quality failure or a sudden shortage, there are no provisions in the current procurement guidelines to effectively resolve these issues. Therefore, we have proposed to introduce a few necessary changes to the procurement guidelines to address these gaps,” he added.
According to the Minister, medicines that were ordered under the revised and corrected procurement process have already begun to arrive in the country, easing pressure on hospitals and regional health authorities that experienced delays and shortages in recent months.
Furthermore, addressing questions pertaining to the proposed unequal distribution of funds for the development of hospitals, Dr. Jayatissa detailed the ministry’s financial allocations and expenditure patterns for the previous year, clarifying misconceptions about alleged uneven distribution of funds among hospitals.
The Minister explained that all spending decisions within the Ministry of Health were guided by a transparent, needs-based assessment. “We personally inspect the need for new constructions and the necessary equipment and then allocate the funds accordingly.”
He pointed to the ongoing construction of a 10-storey hospital building in Badulla as an example of rational spending.
“The previous Government initiated this project based on a genuine requirement and we provided the funding to continue it. We are not going to insist on building a 10-storey building at every hospital just to ensure equal funding. This hospital had a requirement for that specific construction, so we allocated funds to meet that need,” he noted.
The Minister also outlined the process of expenditure incurred by the Ministry of Health. “The Health Ministry’s total allocation this year stood at Rs. 604 billion, of which Rs. 92 billion was capital expenditure, largely directed towards infrastructure development. A further Rs. 185.3 billion was utilised for the purchase of medicines and medical equipment, while Rs. 200 billion was spent on salaries and allowances for health sector personnel. This is how the Rs. 604 billion budget was utilised.”
The Minister emphasised that each rupee had been channelled towards essential services and ongoing development work.
Looking ahead, the Government plans to allocate approximately Rs. 600 billion to the Ministry of Health via the next Budget, with around Rs. 100 billion earmarked as capital expenditure.
A key focus for the coming year will be reviving long-stalled hospital infrastructure projects that have remained incomplete for years.
“There are currently 40 incomplete major projects that various governments have commenced within this line ministry since 2017 and they have remained stagnant. We plan to resume and complete these 40 major incomplete projects in segments, starting this year,” Dr. Jayatissa said.
For the initial phase, the ministry has identified 17 major hospital projects that will be recommenced this year at an estimated cost of Rs. 45 billion. Additional allocations are expected in subsequent budgets to ensure their full completion.