Dr. Palitha Abeykoon and Dr. A. LakKumar Fernando among those removed
Four board members of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) have been replaced on the directive of State Minister of Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana, The Morning reliably learnt.It was also learnt that the officials who were replaced were senior and qualified persons, and have been replaced with officials of far lesser experience and recognition.Our sources told us that the letter in question had been sent to the NMRA Chairman Prof. Asita de Silva, and had stated that it would be with effect from yesterday (9).Prof. Channa Jayasumana was appointed Acting Minister of Health on 16 February, after Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi tested positive for Covid-19. However, she was reinstated following her recovery towards the end of February.However, the NMRA falls under the purview of the State Ministry of Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals, which is headed by Prof. Jayasumana.Two of the officials who were removed are Dr. Palitha Abeykoon and Dr. A. LakKumar Fernando. Dr. Abeykoon is a former Chairman of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA), under the Ministry of Health, and was also a Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation. He has served as the President of the Sri Lanka Medical Association and the AIDS Foundation of Sri Lanka, and as the Director and Trustee of the International Clinical Epidemiology Network. Sri Lanka.Dr. LakKumar Fernando is a Senior Consultant Pediatrician with over 20 years of experience, and the founder clinical head of the Centre for Clinical Management of Dengue. He is the recipient of the Óutstanding Asian Pediatrician award in 2016 from the Asia Pacific Pediatric Association.When contacted by The Morning yesterday (09), NMRA CEO Dr. Kamal Jayasinghe refused to comment on the matter. Several attempts made to contact Prof. Asita de Silva and Prof. Channa Jayasumana proved futile.
