International scholars gather in Colombo to strengthen Sri Lanka’s health policies: New postgraduate degree from the University of Jayewardenepura.
The special international workshop on “Health Economic Analysis for Evidence-Driven Health Policies”, organized with the aim of guiding health policymaking in Sri Lanka towards a scientific path based on data and evidence, was held at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura on 3rd and 4th March 2026.
The program was organized by the Department of Business Economics, Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Mass Media and the World Bank Group.
What is Health Technology Assessment (HTA)?
The main focus of this workshop was on Health Technology Assessment (HTA). Simply put, HTA is the scientific comparison of the costs and actual outcomes of introducing new drugs, medical devices or treatment methods. This guides a government in choosing the best methods to provide maximum health care to the largest number of people using limited financial resources.
Day One:
Inauguration and Global Experiences
The inaugural session of the workshop began with a welcome address by Professor Dushan Jayawickrama, Dean of the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce. Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Aparna Somanathan, Training Manager, World Bank, and Senior Professor Sampath Amaratunga, Department of Business Economics, delivered opening remarks.
The day’s lectures were delivered by Dr. Dee Dong and Dr. Hideki Higashi, Senior Economists, World Bank, as well as Ms. Sunita Kumari Yadav. Professor Eric Finkelstein, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, delivered a special lecture on cost-effectiveness analysis.
The international experience sharing session featured speakers including Professor Ataru Igarashi (University of Tokyo, Japan), Professor Chen Yingyao (Fudan University, China), Dr. Soudamini Viswanath Dabak, Manit Sittimart (HITAP Institute, Thailand), Dr. Ajay Tandon, and Dr. Somil Nagpal (World Bank).
Dr. Lakmini Magodaratne, Dr. Selvarasa Mathurahan, and Professor Janaka Fernando, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, presented on the current situation in Sri Lanka.
Day Two:
The second day was entirely dedicated to hands-on tutorials for the participants. These sessions were facilitated by Professor Ole Norheim and Professor Eric Finkelstein, Harvard University. Professor Anuji Gamage, Kotelawala Defence University, presented on the successful experience of the ‘Day Surgery’ policy in Sri Lanka.
New Postgraduate Course
A special highlight of the conference was the official launch of the Health Economics track of the newly introduced MSc in Business Economics by the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Its coordinator, Dr. Dinesha Siriwardena, informed the scholars about this.
For more photographs:
Day 01: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DxJERbnpV/
Day 02: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AYSekpCxZ/
