IVI and Sri Lanka
Member State Relations
On April 30, 1997, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, H.E. Herman Leonard de Silva, signed the IVI Establishment Agreement.
Sri Lankan Leadership at IVI
Since 2023, Sri Lanka has been represented on the IVI Global Council by Dr. S. Mahendra Arnold, Deputy Director General of the Public Health Services (Disease Control) in the Ministry of Health.
Ongoing Collaboration
Rajarata Pregnancy Cohort Infectious Disease (RaPCoID) Project
The RaPCoID project assesses how exposure to leptospirosis and/or hepatitis E virus before or during pregnancy impacts pregnancy outcomes for both mothers and babies. Leveraging an existing collection of samples from a maternal cohort in Sri Lanka, the project will measure antibodies (markers of exposure) against leptospirosis and hepatitis E virus in sequential serum samples collected during pregnancy. They will then correlate the exposure status with pregnancy and newborn outcomes.
The project ultimately aims to determine two key things: whether exposure to leptospirosis and hepatitis E is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, and to determine the level of exposure of pregnant women to these pathogens in a semi-urban setting in Sri Lanka.
This project is in collaboration with Rajarate University and is funded by Open Philanthropy.
Capturing data on Antimicrobial resistance Patterns and Trends in Use in Regions of Asia (CAPTURA)
The IVI-led CAPTURA project played a pivotal role in expanding historical and current datasets on AMR and antimicrobial usage through extensive data collection efforts across Southeast and South Asia. Building on its successes, CAPTURA II aims to further improve the quality, quantity, analysis, and dissemination of AMR data. This phase focuses on refining methodologies in data collection, stronger monitoring of how surveillance systems are performing, better data management practices, and supporting sustainable improvements in these surveillance systems.
The project runs from 2023 through 2025, directly informing national and regional initiatives to help:
- Improve AMR surveillance
- Promote antimicrobial stewardship
- Shape evidence-based policy
Countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam
Strengthening External Quality Assurance for AMR in Asia (EQAsia)
The Technical University of Denmark is leading a consortium with IVI and the Veterinary Faculty at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand with the Strengthening External Quality Assurance for AMR in Asia (EQAsia) project. During the first phase, the consortium identified and mapped coverage of external quality assurance programs on the continent, providing seven rounds of services and relevant trainings to National Reference Laboratories and Centers of Excellence across One Health sectors. In the next phase, launched in 2023, partners provide four additional rounds of external quality assurance to more than 80 laboratories and centers in Asia and support two countries in establishing national external quality assurance programs to build up their capacity to independently conduct One Health-focused external quality assurance.
Technical Assistance for Clinical Engagement – Asia (TACE Asia)
The TACE Asia project focuses on providing technical support to improve the use of laboratory services and generation of good quality and representative AMR and antimicrobial use data in the human health sector. This will be done through support for clinical engagement and training on the use of simplified protocols to generate AMR burden data in select Fleming Fund priority countries. Launched in 2024, the program is contributing to the use of data on clinical practice and decision-making, improving rational use of antimicrobials, promoting antimicrobial stewardship, and shaping evidence-based practice.
Countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam
Previous Collaboration
VAIEMS and the WHO Global Vaccine Safety Initiative (GVSI)
IVI, in collaboration with WHO’s Global Vaccine Safety Initiative (GVSI), developed a new software tool for collecting and processing information on adverse events following immunization (AEFI) to promote internationally harmonized tools and methods to support
vaccine safety. Known as the Vaccine Adverse Events Information Management System (VAEIMS), this tool was pilot tested in Sri Lanka and evaluated for its ability to transfer AEFI data from health outposts into a central database for processing and conversion of raw data to information for action. Based on its success, Sri Lanka decided to use it at the national level beginning in 2015.
Rotavirus Diarrhea Vaccine Program
From 2003 to 2009, In collaboration with national leaders, pediatricians, and national public health leaders, and funding from PATH’s Rotavirus Vaccine program (RVP), IVI conducted hospital-based rotavirus surveillance studies to estimate rotavirus disease burden in hospitalized children under 5 years.
IVI scientists developed a protocol to conduct standardized hospital-based studies in Phnom Penh Cambodia, Vientiane Laos, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia, and Colombo Sri Lanka.
In 2004, The molecular analysis of rotavirus strains was conducted in collaboration with the University of Melbourne in Australia. Local scientists, one each from Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka visited the Melbourne reference laboratory for short-term training to learn molecular virologic typing methods using reverse-transcription PCR. Strain typing for rotavirus is critical to understanding changes in the types that may cause epidemics in the future.
Surveillance for hospital-based rotavirus studies in sentinel hospitals in Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka were completed in 2007. The average rotavirus incidence rate across the 4 sites averaged 43%. These data were to provide the foundation for estimating the national incidence or rotavirus diarrhea in these countries.
Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative (PDVI)
In 2008, PDVI conducted face-to-face surveys of policymakers and other stakeholders regarding their views about dengue and the future introduction of dengue vaccines in India and Sri Lanka. In all, 54 officials from health ministries, major hospitals, research institutes, professional associations, municipal governments, and Indian vaccine producers were interviewed. The study found that dengue is a major concern and a top infectious disease priority among both local and national governments, and there is generally a high interest among policymakers in introducing dengue vaccines once they become available.
In 2009, the Field Site Consortium supported by IVI introduced a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) developed by the Managua Nicaragua field site, into the PDVI field site in Kolkata India. In 2010, PDVI began updating and introducing LIMS into field sites in Colombia, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka.