No STD's, Malaria among IDPs

Nadira Gunatilleke

There are no Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD's) and Malaria among the IDPs.

The Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry discovered this after conducting a series of health camps in welfare villages with the assistance of 'Tharunyata Hetak' organisation, a Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry spokesman said.

He said that during the health camps around 400 samples of blood was tested and no samples were found positive for Malaria and STD's. The health camps were conducted after receiving unconfirmed information about the spreading of STD's among IDPs.

The health camps will be conducted for a few more weeks.

According to the spokesman, the Ministry sent a special medical team with 20 Medical Laboratory Technicians (MLTs), two nurses and three lab orderlies to welfare villages to assist the health camps. They will stay in the welfare villages for a few weeks and carry out medical tests.

The health camps will also help pregnant mothers.

The health camps will cover welfare villages located in all five zones. The main objective of the program is preventing STD's among IDPs, he said

The Ministry has already provided permanent health care services to all welfare villages. Pregnant mothers have been provided with special health care facilities including a special team of specialist doctors led by Dr. Kanishka Karunaratne, a special theatre and five special wards allocated at the Cheddikulam Hospital, he added.