Dear SLMA Members,

I thank you for the singular honour of electing me as the 130th president of the SLMA in its 130th year. I accept this position with humility, being acutely aware of my responsibilities in upholding the principles upon which this great institution was founded in 1887.

Since joining the SLMA twenty years ago in 1999. I have served it in various capacities as Vice President, Assistant Secretary & member of the SLMA Expert Committee in Communicable Diseases, etc. Being appointed the President is the pinnacle of a long journey of my professional career & a personal achievement.

The overall theme selected for this year is, ‘Ensuring Equity in Healthcare during Challenging Times’. Challenging times, such as public health crises or emergencies, can exacerbate existing healthcare disparities and inequalities.

While the council will take all necessary steps to organize a very lively calendar of activities for the year, I would like to invite all our members living in Sri Lanka & residing abroad to play an active role and to participate fully in all SLMA events planned for the year including the flagship event the 137th Anniversary International Medical Congress which will be ably organized by the Academic committee of this year. We will like you to provide us with regular feedback and constructive criticism to improve our activities and better position to make them more attractive to all grades of medical professionals and our members.

The outgoing President, Dr Vinya Ariyaratne made 2023 a memorable year by making SLMA a house hold name and also working on many key advocacy issues especially on irregularities associated with the medicinal drug approval process by the NMRA and purchase of medicines by the Health Ministry.

The council pledge to preserve the SLMA’s long traditions, and further uplift its commitment to advocacy, continuous professional development to improve the skills & knowledge and protect & improve the ethical practice of medicine by all medical professionals to provide quality enhanced health care to all the citizens of the country.

I would like to wish each and every member of the SLMA & their families, very best wishes for good health and happiness throughout the year.

Yours Sincerely

Dr Ananda Wijewickrama

President, SLMA