Sarvodaya organises Malaria Walk in Polonnaruwa

Sarvodaya held a walk and seminar in Polonnaruwa town yesterday, 13 May, to raise awareness on malaria and get community involvement to eradicate it from Sri Lanka.

The event was attended by Minister of Health Maithreepala Sirisena and Minister of Health of the North Central Provincial Council Peshala Jayarathne.

The walk also commemorated World Anti-Malaria Day, which fell on 25 April. The walk was organised by Sarvodaya Community Health Unit together with the central and provincial Malaria offices.

The walk started at 8:30 a.m. at Buddhi Mandapa in Polonnaruwa and proceeded via the Travel Police Roundabout, after which it reached the Batticaloa Road and ended at the Polonnaruwa General Hospital.

A seminar on ‘The Importance of Community Involvement to eradicate Malaria from Sri Lanka’ was held at the Main Hall of the Polonnaruwa General Hospital after the completion of the walk.

A large number of volunteers from the Sarvodaya Movement, officers of the regional anti-malaria office, representatives of other governmental and non-governmental organisations and journalists participated in the walk.

The walk was part of a range of activities conducted by Sarvodaya to eradicate malaria, which is funded by The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). Sri Lanka has now reached the stage of eradicating malaria, and to achieve this objective, the Sarvodaya Community Health Unit conducts various activities to raise awareness, empower communities, increase community involvement and educate the public.

Sarvodaya has also organised walks and other awareness building programmes in other malaria-prone areas in the country as well, which will be held on 20 May in Kilinochchi, on 24 May in Batticaloa and on 27 May in Moneragala.

A walk to raise awareness on malaria was successfully held on 29 April in Kurunegala with a highly enthusiastic participation from many governmental and non-governmental organisations and the general public.