Collaboration between SL and Israel on combatting COVID-19

Saturday, 25 July 2020 00:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka’s Embassy in Israel has initiated a collaboration between the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) and the Sheba Medical Center (SMC) of Israel to share knowledge, information and experience on effective measures in combatting COVID-19, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

The inaugural meeting was held on Thursday via online video conference facility.

NIID Consultant Physician Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama and SMC Center for Travel Medicine and Tropical Diseases Director Professor Eyal Leshen represented the two sides at the discussion. Delivering the opening remarks Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Israel Waruna Wilpatha expressed the hope that this timely initiative would pave the way for a lasting collaboration between the two institutions beyond combatting COVID-19.

The discussions focused on measures employed by the respective institutions to control the spread of COVID-19 and future collaborations.

The SMC is the largest hospital in Israel with a capacity of 2000 beds and a 7000 strong medical staff, which treats around 1.6 million patients from Israel and around the world annually. The SMC is also a university-affiliated teaching hospital consisting of 6 major institutions, including a world-class medical research complex, which is currently engaged in a number of medical research projects to find an effective vaccination for COVID – 19.

Ranked as one of the top 10 hospitals in the world, the SMC is also a major medical-scientific research powerhouse that collaborates internationally with the bio-tech and pharmaceutical industries to develop new drugs, treatments and technologies.

Ambassador Wilpatha initiated the establishment of this collaboration with the assistance of Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka in the southern city of Eilat, Israel Roy Ben-Yami, who also took part at the inaugural meeting.