SL partner with US to end AIDS

The Governments of Sri Lanka and the US launched a two-year HIV/AIDS Technical Assistance Partnership on December 8, to fast track the government efforts to end AIDS by 2025, the US Embassy said on Tuesday.  

The Embassy said the US Agency for International Development (USAID) would help to transfer promising solutions, new technical skills and innovations to contribute towards ending AIDS in Sri Lanka, through the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

USAID Sri Lanka Mission Director Andrew Sisson said they have been working closely with the Sri Lankan Government on a number of social and economic development efforts.

“This partnership is very important as Sri Lanka moves down the path to ending the spread of AIDS,”he said. 

USAID India Mission Director Mark Anthony White said they are happy to partner with USAID Sri Lanka to support this important initiative to strengthen the HIV response, especially for key populations. “We hope this leads to more health collaborations between India and Sri Lanka,” he said.  

Meanwhile, Health Ministry Secretary Janaka Sugathadasa said when it comes to HIV/AIDS, we must have a new approach and the public health approach has to be coupled with a societal approach.

In a statement, the Embassy said the two-year partnership will work in close collaboration with key stakeholders in the country to improve access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services for at-risk or key populations (KP) due to their increased vulnerability for contracting/transmitting the HIV virus.

The Sri Lankan Government is committed to ending AIDS in country by 2025, ahead of the UN’s Global Commitment to end AIDS by 2030.

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Largest number of elephants, tuskers killed during this govt.: Sudaththa Thera

The largest number of elephants and tuskers were killed after the Yahapalanaya government came to office and after appointment of Gamini Jayawickrama Perera as the Wildlife Minister, the convener of the national movement to protect tamed elephants, Magalkande Sudaththa Thera said today.

While speaking at a media briefing at Rajagiriya, the Thera said, another four more tuskers had been killed after killing the iconic Galagamuwe 'Dala Puttuwa' recently.

“According to the statistics and other information obtained from the Wild Life Department, same number of elephants have been disappeared. Special search operations are being conducted with the support of several army teams,” the Thera said.

“After this government came to office 117 elephants have been killed in 2015. After the appointment of the Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera as the Wild Life Minister, 131 elephants have been killed in 2016. 60 elephants had been killed by July, 2017,” the Thea said.

According to the Wild life reports, in 2005, 85 elephants have been killed. The number of elephants killed in the subsequent years as follows; 2006-117, 2007-110, 2008-153, 2009-136, 2010-123, 2011-137, 2012-110, 2013-100, 2014-104, the Thera said.

Therefore, the Minister should resign from his portfolio taking the responsibility for these killings of elephants reported in the country, except for the natural deaths of elephants.

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For striking and killing a friend with a cricket stupm teenage under aged student arrested

On the 26th instant on the instructions of the Matugama Chief magistrate of the magistrates courts Wasantha Kosala Senadhira the suspected  15 year old ,teenage underage student for killing his colleague friend has been detained at the Paiyagala Pambe Jayanthi children's home until the 4th October for the offence of

hitting with a cricket stupm.

On the instructions of the acting officer in charge of the Pelipenna police station police Sergeant Jayalath (48471) had made an investigation and submitted the report along with the postmortem report  to courts.

Attorney at law Gamini Nallaperuma had appeared for the defense of the accused teenage student,The postmortem report submitted by the judicial medical officer of the Nagoda general hospital Dr LBBM Fernando had attributed the cause of  death due to the firm hit made with the cricket wicket to the neck of the deceased had deprived the free flow of blood to the brain

In this manner the 15 year old student who had died is Malinga Chandana Lakshan a 10 year student at Welipenna Ovitigala Vidyalaya.

It is reported that by the time the 15 year old Lakshan was admitted to Welipenna hospital he had already succumbed.Later for the postmortem investigation his remains had been sent to the mortuary of the Nagoda general hospital  the day before yesterday the 25th instant where the postmortem was conducted.

On the instructions of the superintendent of police Kalutara area Upul Nilmini Ariyaratne the acting officer in charge of the Welipenna W.Karunaratne had handed over the report on the death of the student .The Magistrate had come to visit and view the ground where the students play.Afterwards the judicial medical officer had been requested to perform the postmortem examination.

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