Donation from the International Atomic Energy Agency via the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board

A significant donation of Coronavirus diagnostic kits and related equipment valued at over 14 million rupees was handed over to Professor Chandrika N Wijeyaratne, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Colombo, by Professor SRD Rosa, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board (SLAEB) at a simple ceremony held at the Faculty of Medicine. Present were Professor Vajira Dissanayake, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, and Mr. TMR Tennakoon, Director General of the SLAEB.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was the donor that provided the equipment, including safety cabinets and a PCR hood, along with accessories such as micropipettes and personal protective equipment and reagents for COVID19 diagnosis i.e. PCR kits along with primer s and probes. The donation was the result of a request made by SLAEB which is the Sri Lankan Focal point of IAEA. The systems provided by this donation will be utilized by the Department of Microbiology of the Faculty of Medicine to enhance its testing capacity of samples for COVID-19.

The donation was the brain child of Mr. TMR Tennakoon, Director General of the SLAEB, and facilitated by the close links that Professor Jennifer Perera, Chair Professor of Microbiology had with the IAEA.