WHO hands over $44,800 of CBRN equipment, PPE to Sri Lanka
The World Health Organization (WHO) has handed over $44,800 USD worth of CBRN equipment and PPE to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health.
Announced on X on Friday 27 February, the package was received by the additional secretary of Medical Services Dr. Kumara Wickremasinghe; director general of Health Services, Asela Gunawardena; and national coordinator of the Disaster Preparedness and Response Division, Dr. Samiddhi Samarakoon.
"This contribution will enable the Ministry of Health to preposition essential CBRN equipment across six tertiary hospitals located in high‑risk areas, boosting national health sector readiness for rapid response during chemical emergencies," said the WHO.
"This milestone reflects WHO’s continued commitment to supporting Sri Lanka in strengthening preparedness, response capacity and overall health security," the statement continued, noting that the contribution supports commitments under Sri Lanka's National Action Plan for Health Security 2024–2028.
National Training Workshop
This week has also seen Sri Lanka host a "National Training Workshop on Strengthening Sri Lanka’s Health Emergency Workforce for Chemical and Biological Hazards".
The three-day training workshop was "dedicated to building a safer, better-prepared Sri Lanka", according to the World Health Organization. The topics covered during the workshop included:
- Sri Lanka’s hazard profile and risks of chemical and biological threats
- Fundamentals of responding to biological incidents
- Staff protection and decontamination
- Detection, notification and taxonomies
- Preparedness for CBRNE emergency response and decontamination operations
- Investigation of outbreaks of unknown illnesses with potential chemical origin
- Incident command systems
- Chemical response national emergency operation procedure
- Chemical incident response, types of emergencies and essential staff protection
- Personal protective equipment for CBRN emergencies
