Japan hands over infectious waste management equipment to 15 hospitals across SL

Tuesday, 9 September 2025 02:57 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

From left: Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Arun Hemachandra, Japanese Ambassador Akio Isomata, Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, and JICA Sri Lanka Chief Representative Kenji Kuronuma

The Embassy of Japan has said that Ambassador Akio Isomata handed over infectious waste management equipment to 15 hospitals in the country at a ceremony at the Trincomalee General Hospital.

The equipment has been provided under the ‘Project for the Improvement of Infectious Waste Management’, for which the Exchange of Notes was signed in April 2023 with a grant assistance of JPY 503 million (approx. $ 3.7 million) by the Government of Japan.

Under this project, medical waste incinerators with temperature control and exhaust gas treatment systems are being provided to 15 hospitals across all nine provinces of Sri Lanka. Together with technical training on proper waste management and equipment operation, the project aims to strengthen infection prevention and control capacity nationwide, the Japanese Embassy said in a statement.

The event was held on 5 September and attended by Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Arun Hemachandra, MP Roshan Akmeemana, and JICA Sri Lanka Chief Representative Kenji Kuronuma.

Ambassador Isomata said the project not only provides advanced facilities for infectious waste management, but also strengthens the capacity of healthcare workers through the training of Kaizen, 5S and TQM methods.

He also highlighted that the project adopted, in its capacity development component, Training of Trainers (ToT) approach, utilising nudge theory based on modern behavioural sciences. Using this ToT approach, the knowledge learnt cascades from Health Ministry officials to hospital infection control officers, and on to broader groups of medical service personnel, thus effectively creating safer medical environment on a wider basis.

He also mentioned that a Catheterisation Laboratory at Trincomalee General Hospital is expected to be established in two years through an ongoing Yen Loan Project, by which the quality of medical services in the Eastern Province and adjacent areas will be further enhanced.

The Ambassador reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to continuing to provide support to the Northern and Eastern Provinces, where socio-economic development and national reconciliation are closely interconnected. He also commented that for bilateral cooperation to be sustainable towards the future, not only government-to-government cooperation, but private sector partnership should be further promoted including in medical and related industrial areas.

Japan remains dedicated to supporting Sri Lanka in achieving sustainable development and in further deepening the long-standing friendship between the two countries.