(Lanka-e-News -26.Nov.2025, 9.25 PM) A news report published today (26) in a daily newspaper – and now circulating widely on social media – carries the headline “No issue with eye drops imported during Keheliya’s tenure – Health Ministry says.”
According to the Ministry of Health, the headline and the accompanying narrative are entirely misleading, misrepresenting both facts and the Ministry’s official position.
The Ministry says it has taken serious note of the article, which, under the headline “No issue with eye drops imported during Keheliya’s time”, presents claims designed to mislead readers and distort ongoing inquiries related to the use of prednisolone eye drops.
At the centre of the matter is a letter issued by the Health Ministry rejecting a compensation claim filed by K.A. Lenin Niroshan of No. 37/A, Wewahenawatta, Hiriwala, Kaleliya, Gampaha. Niroshan alleged that his eyesight had deteriorated due to the use of prednisolone eye drops and sought compensation. The rejected claim has now been misrepresented as a broader Ministry statement clearing all eye drops imported during the tenure of former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.
According to a Ministry briefing, 99 applications for compensation were submitted regarding alleged blindness or impaired vision following the use of prednisolone eye drops. A panel of specialist ophthalmologists thoroughly reviewed the medical records and circumstances of each case. Compensation totalling Rs. 14.7 million has been approved for 17 patients, while 69 applications were rejected. A further 13 applications remain under review.
The Ministry states that many individuals who had not used the relevant medication had nevertheless lodged claims seeking compensation. The expert panel, after medical and scientific examination of the records, recommended rejection of such applications, and written notifications have been issued to all such applicants.
The claim now being cited in media reports relates solely to the letter sent on 13 November 2025 to claimant K.A. Lenin Niroshan. In paragraph 2 of that letter, signed by Additional Secretary (Medical Services) Dr. W.K. Wickramasinghe, the Ministry states:
“Accordingly, upon examination of your medical reports by the committee of specialist doctors, it has been confirmed that your visual impairment is not due to the use of prednisolone eye drops.”
Nowhere in this letter – or in any other Ministry communication – is there any statement resembling the claim that “there is no issue with the eye drops imported during Keheliya’s time.”
The Ministry emphasises that such an assertion has never been made.
Despite this, the false reports published today state:
“The Ministry of Health has issued a letter stating that prednisolone eye drops imported into the country during the tenure of former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella did not cause visual impairment among patients.”
The Ministry describes this as a dangerous and wholly fabricated claim.
The Ministry strongly denies issuing any such statement at any point. It warns that the publication of baseless and misleading reports, particularly involving sensitive public health matters, has the potential to cause unnecessary fear among patients who rely on the free state health service.
Furthermore, several television channels and social media pages have amplified the incorrect report, presenting it under their news headline segments and thereby entrenching the false narrative among the public. The Ministry says this has created an unnecessarily harmful situation.
Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Media, has urged all media outlets to verify facts with an authorised Ministry official before publishing reports on matters affecting public health.
— Deepthi Wijethunga
Media Secretary, Ministry of Health and Media
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by (2025-11-26 15:55:13)
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