Sri Lanka requests WHO for benchmark to set up high quality medicinal drugs testing lab

By Rashida Rehmanjee   

In the absence of a proper mechanism to ensure the quality of medicinal drugs, Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella discussed with the World Health Organization (WHO) over a benchmark to set up a highly standardized quality laboratory in Sri Lanka to test the quality of pharmaceuticals.   

The minister told the Daily Mirror that he had a meeting on August 15 with WHO country representative Dr. Alanka Singh where important concerns were brought up.   
He said he requested the World Health Organisation to provide Terms of Reference (ToR) and specifications for the ‘seamless implementation’ of such a laboratory.   
“If we can establish such a lab in Sri Lanka, we can even generate income by carrying out tests for other countries in the region,” he said.