Northern development funds won’t be curtailed - Minister

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided not to curtail the funds needed for development purposes in the North under any circumstances faced by the Government, Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said.

The Minister made these remarks at a ceremony held at the Vavuniya Teaching Hospital on Monday where he opened a new maternity clinic, labour room, chest clinic and the nurses quarters built at a cost of Rs. 22 million.

The Minister also presented appointment letters to 135 family health workers who had completed the training at the Nursing school at Vavuniya.

“During the period of terrorism in the past, all the hospitals, MOH offices and rural health clinics in the North were badly damaged.

However, with the dawn of peace here, they will be developed very shortly under the ‘Uthuru Vasanthaya’ concept, the Minister said.

There are more than 110 doctors serving in welfare villages at present. Already we have resettled over 70,000 IDPs in their villages and the balance too will be resettled as early as possible. “Once these people are fully resettled, their health needs too will be properly looked into. Then the doctors presently serving in these welfare villages will be absorbed into hospitals in the North.

The Ministry decision to compel doctors passing out from Jaffna Medical College to serve in Jaffna at least for one year has not met with success due to some objections raised by Trade Unions and Tamil medium doctors in the past. If that decision was implemented we would here had MBBS doctors serving in hospitals in the North.

In these circumstances, it is the responsibility of everybody to strengthen the hands of the President to complete these development activities in the North, so that the people there will enjoy a qualitative healthcare system in future, Minister said.

Northern Province Governor Major General G.A. Chandrasiri, Former Parliamentarian Dharmalingam Siddharthan and Minister Rishard Bathiudeen were present.