COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE Colombo, Sri Lanka
58th Workshop A - 12 September 2012
EMPOWERING FUTURE GENERATIONS THROUGH ACCESS TO HEALTH AND EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING
Moderator: Hon. Chandima Weerakkody, MP, Deputy Speaker, Sri Lanka
Discussion Leaders: Prof. Carlo Fonseka, Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Medical Council and of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol, Prof. Dayantha Wijeyesekera, Chancellor of Sri Lanka’s University of Vocational Technology, Chairperson of the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission and a member of the National Education Commission, Dr Sunil Jayantha Navaratne, Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s achievements for its people in the fields of health and education, producing indices said to be the best in the South Asian region and almost on a par with some developed countries, were highlighted at this conference workshop. Direct state intervention and
massive investment in providing access to free health and education were cited as the major reasons for Sri Lanka’s achievements. Universal suffrage, enjoyed by Sri Lankans since 1931, enabled voters to extract benefits in these fields from successive governments. State intervention in food distribution since the Second World War was also cited as contributing to Sri Lanka’s accomplishments in these vital fields. Delegates showed keen interest
in learning from and sharing the experiences of Sri Lanka in these fields as its policies have in turn contributed to a low unemployment rate, very low infant and maternal mortality rates, adult literacy of 98 per
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cent and consistent economic growth of around six per cent a year in recent years.
Health and Challenges in the Health Sector Prof. Carlo Fonseka, Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Medical Council and of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol, based his presentation on challenges and experiences of the Sri Lanka’s health sector. He said Sri Lanka has “an excellent free healthcare system with easy access to health and other related services maintained with state intervention”. Though the generally accepted
notion is that the wealthier the nation, the healthier the people, he said Sri Lanka has been an exception. Developed countries generally have a far higher Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) than their developing counterparts. The three key indices used for measuring the PQLI are the basic literacy rate, infant mortality and life expectancy at age one. High-
income countries have high PQLIs and conversely low-income countries have low PQLIs. However , he said Sri Lanka has proved that this is not always the case. In 1979, Sri Lanka’s per capita income was only U.S.$179 yet he noted it had an remarkable PQLI of 72 units out of 100. He attributed this to three major
reasons: • 1.
State intervention in
providing access to health care; • 2.
Universal suffrage, which
Sri Lanka enjoyed from 1931, was cleverly used by the people to extract benefits from governments, and • 3.
State intervention in food
distribution which commenced in during the Second World War and continued even after the war. Prof. Fonseka said the overarching principle in Sri Lanka is that the state must look after the health of the people, especially the poor. The government has supported this endeavour in the political, economic and social fronts