Sri Lanka plans to procure all vaccines required for the National Immunisation Programme entirely with Government funds in 2027, according to Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa.
The Minister said the Government intends to use 100% State funding for procurement of vaccines required under the national programme next year.
He described this as the first time Sri Lanka's full immunisation-vaccine requirement would be financed from State resources.
Jayatissa made the announcement at an event in Colombo marking the 49th death anniversary of Professor Senaka Bibile and the 55th anniversary of the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation.
The announcement concerns the financing and procurement of vaccines.
It does not itself announce a change to Sri Lanka's vaccination schedule, introduce a new vaccine, or alter current eligibility recommendations.
The Minister also said the availability of medicines supplied to Government hospitals had increased from around 50% previously to approximately 96%.
According to his statement, 862 types of medicines are being supplied to Government hospitals through the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation, while around 5,800 surgical items are also expected to be supplied.
He said the Government has allocated Rs.185 billion annually for medicines and surgical items.
Jayatissa also said measures were being taken to reduce administrative delays in procurement and to make payments to suppliers without delay where there were no technical or documentation-related problems.
The Government's announcement that it intends to finance the full vaccine requirement from State funds in 2027 should not be interpreted as meaning that international organisations or development partners will necessarily cease providing technical or other non-vaccine support.
Any detailed 2027 vaccine list, procurement allocation or changes to the immunisation programme should be reported separately when officially published.