The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), with financial support from the Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Dewalaya, has completed the establishment of the first Paediatric Blood & Marrow Transplant Unit for children with cancer in a government hospital.
The facility, constructed at a cost of Rs. 176 million, was inaugurated today at Apeksha Hospital, Maharagama.
The ceremony was attended by Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, Deputy Minister of Defence Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd), Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Air Force Commander Air Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa, and Basnayake Nilame of the Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Dewalaya Dishan Gunasekara, along with hospital staff and patients.
The project began with a 2023 proposal by Gunasekara to build a three-storey ward complex at Apeksha Hospital using funds from the Kataragama Dewalaya Fund. The SLAF provided labor, enabling the structure to expand into a four-storey complex completed in 2024. The Paediatric Blood & Marrow Transplant Unit occupies the third and fourth floors, addressing a critical shortage of space in the children’s wards.
Air Marshal Rajapaksa said the SLAF remains committed to maintaining the facility to ensure its continued benefit for children in need.
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