WHO Director-General highlights Sri Lanka’s leadership on health emergency preparedness 🇱🇰🌐 📹 In a video message, @WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) welcomed Sri Lanka’s leadership in undertaking the Universal Health and Preparedness Review. Building on Sri Lanka’s strengths in public health, surveillance and international health security, he welcomed the mission’s focus on governance, sustainable financing, climate resilience, One Health and the proposed Sri Lankan Centre for Disease Control. 🗣️“Emergency preparedness is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Health alone.” ‼️ Against increasingly complex threats, Dr Tedros also emphasised that emergency preparedness requires leadership across government, Parliament, local authorities, academia, civil society, the private sector and communities. His closing message: speak openly, agree on concrete priorities and strengthen accountability through national, regional and global peer review ✅ #UHPR #HealthSecurity #HealthEmergencies #OneHealth #SriLanka

[2/2] 🗣️ As WHO Representative Dr Rajesh Sambhajirao Pandav @PandavRajesh) highlighted, the choice is to invest in preparedness before emergencies occur, rather than face far greater human, social and economic costs afterwards‼️ ➡️The key takeaway: Sustained national leadership is essential to keep health security on the agenda, connect priorities across government and carry the momentum of UHPR forward 👏🏽 #UHPR #HealthSecurity #HealthEmergencies #SriLanka

[2/2] ➡️ As a country-led process, UHPR brings preparedness into high-level political and policy dialogue, building on existing evidence, national experience and lessons from past public health emergencies to help translate recommendations into action. 🎯 The ambition: Going beyond another assessment, by bringing evidence & experiences into one national dialogue, and turn priorities into political commitment, investment and sustained implementation ✅ #UHPR #HealthSecurity #HealthEmergencies #LKA

[1/2] Sri Lanka’s UHPR High-Level Mission is underway 🇱🇰🌐 📍Today, the Universal Health and Preparedness Review (UHPR) was officially inaugurated, marking an important milestone in Sri Lanka’s efforts to strengthen health emergency preparedness, resilience and national health security. Under the patronage of Dr Nalinda Jayatissa, Hon. Minister of Health and Mass Media, and Dr Anil Jasinghe, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Mass Media and with WHO experts, government leaders, WHO experts, UN counterparts and national and international partners, this forum reflects the multisectoral action needed to strengthen preparedness 💪🏽

[1/2] Health security is a shared priority, requiring action well beyond the health sector 🌐 🇱🇰 As Sri Lanka takes forward its Universal Health and Preparedness Review (UHPR), WHO Representative to Sri Lanka Dr Rajesh Sambhajirao Pandav joined @WHO experts from its headquarters in Geneva, including Dr Stella Chungong, Director, Health Emergency Preparedness, WHO Health Emergencies Programme, for discussions with the @UNSriLanka Resident Coordinator @MAFrancheUN and UN Country Team 🇺🇳