Tracking delivery on manifesto promises

Ensure every hospital-admitted patient has a bed and necessary facilities.

Why this status: The official health policy commits to ensuring every hospital-admitted patient has a bed and necessary facilities. This is a stated implementation direction, but the source does not establish that the standard has been achieved nationwide.

Establish facilities for mental, speech, auditory, occupational, and community physical therapy.

Why this status: The Ministry's January 2025 Divisional Hospital manual requires rehabilitation assessment and referral at all divisional hospitals and identifies selected hospitals for community-based rehabilitation and physiotherapy, including mental-health rehabilitation and home care for elderly people. This is a concrete service framework, but it does not establish all of the promised mental, speech, auditory, occupational and community-physical-therapy facilities nationwide.

Implement satellite clinics to provide specialized health services (including visits by specialist consultants) in family physician unit areas.

Why this status: The Health Ministry has announced telemedicine and phased expansion of specialist access through primary-health facilities, a credible route toward specialist outreach. The source is a plan and does not confirm satellite clinics with specialist consultant visits in family-physician areas, so it remains in progress.

Cluster health institutions into primary care institutions (base hospitals), secondary care institutions (general hospitals), and tertiary care institutions (teaching hospitals) to ensure effective and continuous care.

Why this status: The government has begun a phased expansion of primary care and Cabinet has approved 1,000 Arogya Health and Wellness Centres for 2026–28, taking the primary-care network to 2,000 institutions. This supports the promised health-system reorganisation, but no official record yet confirms that all hospitals have been formally clustered into the exact primary, secondary and tertiary structure promised.

Introduce specialized geriatric clinics in disease prevention institutions for elderly care.

Why this status: The Ministry's Primary Healthcare Reforms 2024 provide for one or two divisional hospitals in each district to be upgraded to Base Hospital C with a focus on geriatric services and separate geriatric/palliative beds. This is meaningful elderly-care expansion, but it is not the promised network of specialised geriatric clinics in disease-prevention institutions, and the source does not confirm nationwide completion.

Provide medical expenses coverage and appropriate allowances to employees who suffer work-related accidents until they return to their duties.

Why this status: The Labour Ministry's National Occupational Safety and Health Policy identifies the existing work-injury compensation system as inadequate and commits government to strengthen compensation and promote an employment-injury insurance scheme with stakeholders. This is a direct implementation commitment, but the source does not show a new scheme already providing the promised medical-expense coverage and income support until return to work.

Establish an organization to regulate food-related advertisements and implement a code of ethics to ensure advertisements provide accurate information to consumers.

Why this status: Food-advertising regulation has progressed: the Ministry of Health lists Food (Labelling and Advertising) Regulations 2026 among the current regulations, and the related 2026 draft has been opened for public and industry comment. This is relevant to accurate consumer information. However, there is no official evidence that a dedicated food-advertising regulator or the promised standalone code of ethics has been established, so the full pledge is only partially delivered.

Establish national health promotion programs to control severe and chronic malnutrition and obesity.

Why this status: Delivered substantially as a programme commitment. The Ministry of Health is implementing National Nutrition Month 2026 to address undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity through nationwide awareness, nutrition education and multisectoral collaboration. This verifies the promised national health-promotion programme, not a completed reduction in malnutrition or obesity outcomes.

Implement online registration for medical appointments in health services institutions.

Why this status: There is genuine but limited implementation. The Ministry's 2025 hospital-quality manual directs facilities to establish online appointment systems where possible, and Teaching Hospital Badulla operates a live online OPD booking portal. This demonstrates the promised model in a public health institution, but the evidence does not establish a national rollout across health-service institutions; the pledge is therefore underway rather than kept.

Increase government expenditure on health to at least 3% of the GDP within the electoral term.

Why this status: Official Treasury planning records describe Sri Lanka's public health expenditure baseline as about 1.5% of GDP, well below the manifesto's 3% target. The newer 2026–2030 Public Investment Programme raises nominal health allocations and the 2026 Budget funds major health initiatives, but the public documents do not demonstrate that total government health expenditure has reached 3% of GDP. The pledge therefore remains an unmet electoral-term target with an active spending track.

Implement educational programs for citizens on fundamental laws (in Sinhala, Tamil, and English) and on information technology and the use of technological tools.

Why this status: The official adult-education policy repeats the trilingual fundamental-law and IT-literacy programme commitment. No nationwide delivery results are shown, so it remains in the works.

Establish community educational centres in each divisional secretariat area, integrated with local educational institutions, libraries, and cultural centres.

Why this status: The official adult-education policy repeats the commitment to community educational centres in each divisional secretariat area integrated with local institutions, libraries and cultural centres. The policy is evidence of planned implementation, not nationwide completion.

Establish an independent regulatory unit under the Ministry of Education to regulate the quality and fees of programs offered by existing private educational institutions.

Why this status: The official policy commits to an independent regulatory unit to regulate programmes at existing private educational institutions, but it does not include the manifesto’s separate fee-regulation requirement. This is a partial policy match, not full delivery.

Establish a dedicated university for postgraduate research and development.

Why this status: The official higher-education policy explicitly commits to establishing a university for postgraduate research and development. No evidence in this source demonstrates that the university has been established, so it remains in the works.

Increase Mahapola and other bursaries in line with the cost of living index.

Why this status: Partly delivered. The Government increased the Mahapola scholarship by Rs. 10,000, but the published evidence does not establish a permanent cost-of-living indexation mechanism for Mahapola and the other bursaries named in the pledge.

Provide facilities for students with disabilities in tertiary education institutions to enable them to receive education by recognized international standards.

Why this status: The UGC's 2025–2029 Strategic Plan explicitly provides for inclusive admissions, support frameworks, accessibility upgrades, and staged targets for universities to improve facilities for students with disabilities. This is direct and measurable implementation planning, but the target runs to 2029 and is not evidence that international-standard facilities are already in place throughout the tertiary system.

Implement an integrated mechanism to prevent sexual or other forms of harassment of youth in tertiary education institutions.

Why this status: The UGC's 2025–2029 plan commits to a university-wide zero-tolerance policy on ragging and other violence, strict complaint-handling guidelines, and better-resourced gender focal points. The UGC also operates an online complaints mechanism covering sexual harassment and gender-based violence. This is a concrete implementation path, though the published plan does not establish that the integrated mechanism has been fully implemented across all tertiary institutions.

Establish special units in every tertiary education institution to enhance basic qualifications, including English language skills, for students pursuing postgraduate education in international universities, and to foster relationships for securing such opportunities.

Why this status: The Ministry's progress report says the government expects to establish special units in every tertiary institution for foundational qualifications including English and international postgraduate opportunities. The UGC's 2025–2029 plan separately commits targeted funding for English courses. Both are implementation signals, but neither source confirms that the promised units are operating at every institution.

Provide internet facilities in all tertiary education institutes, lecture halls, laboratories, libraries, and cafeterias, meeting recognized industry standards.

Why this status: The UGC's 2025–2029 Strategic Plan provides staged targets to upgrade physical and digital university infrastructure and to make digital resources available for teaching, learning and research. That is evidence of an active national implementation programme, but it is not evidence that internet facilities meeting recognized standards are already available in every named tertiary-education space.

Abolish the recruitment of non-academic staff in universities based on recommendations from the minister in charge.

Why this status: The government’s higher-education policy document explicitly includes abolishing non-academic staff recruitment on ministerial recommendations. Current UGC recruitment circulars still set out active non-academic recruitment procedures, so the reform is evidenced as a policy direction under implementation, not completed.

Establish a Vocational Education Regulatory Department staffed by professionals to advise on qualitative and quantitative changes in the vocational education sector, considering job market demands and global trends.

Why this status: The Ministry of Education's published reform programme says a vocational education regulatory bureau will be set up with industry and education professionals to advise on changes responsive to job-market and global trends. This closely matches the pledge, but the source frames it as a future action rather than evidence that the regulatory body is operating.

Establish a strong structure within the school system to address sexual or other forms of violence faced by all communities.

Why this status: Cabinet approved an integrated multi-sector mechanism to protect children from abuse and violence, while the government reports strengthening school-based referral, counselling and safeguarding systems. This is substantial structural progress, though it does not prove a fully functioning response structure in every school.

Establish a National University of Education by merging all existing Colleges of Education and Teacher Training Colleges.

Why this status: Under way. The Education Ministry reports Cabinet approval to establish the Sri Lanka University of Education. This is a material step toward the pledged merger of Colleges of Education and Teacher Training Colleges, but the reviewed evidence does not establish that the merger and national university are already operational.

Establish a teacher service constitution and a teacher council.

Why this status: The Ministry of Education's published reform programme says the government aims to establish a new teacher Service Minute and a Teachers' Council. This is direct, official implementation planning, but the source does not show that either body has been formally established or that a revised service constitution is in force.

Establish a fully equipped Curriculum Development Unit within the National Institute of Education.

Why this status: The government’s official education policy explicitly commits to establishing a fully equipped Curriculum Development Unit within the National Institute of Education. This is a live policy direction, but the source does not prove the unit is operational.