Sri Lanka, April 8 -- Across the globe, the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a new urgency around healthcare systems and universal health coverage - the access to high-quality and affordable healthcare services for all, as and when needed. Such concerns are paramount for Sri Lanka, given its growing debt overhang and weak public finances, apart from the obvious constraints on public resources brought about by

the pandemic.

Added to this, a rapidly ageing population, increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancers, and mental illnesses, and tighter access to donor funds as an aspiring upper-middle-income country, pose challenges to sustaining the country's internationally recognised and s...