India provides 100 ambulances to strengthen Sri Lanka emergency services

India agreed to provide 100 fully equipped ambulances to the 1990 Suwa Seriya Emergency Ambulance Service in Sri Lanka.

Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha and Dr. Anil Jasinghe of the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health and Mass Media signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate this grant worth Rs. 1.72 billion. The Indian High Commission stated that the initiative follows a request from Sri Lankan leaders to improve emergency response times to under 10 minutes.

This move builds on previous cooperation where India provided funding for the initial launch of the service in 2016 and its islandwide expansion in 2018. India continues to support various healthcare projects in Sri Lanka, including the construction of hospitals in Dickoya and Jaffna. Current projects also include developing accident and emergency facilities at Mannar District General Hospital and providing medical equipment to Base Hospital, Deniyaya.