Doctor Paba Palihawadana
Chief Epidemiologist, Director, Central Epidemiological Unit, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka
Dr Paba Palihawadana, M.Sc., M.D., MPH, MBBS, is the Chief Epidemiologist, Director, Central Epidemiological Unit, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka. She is also the National Manager EPI Programme and the National Manager of the Polio Eradication Programme. From 2001 to 2002 she was a regular visiting scientist to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Immunization Program Epidemiology and Surveillance Division.
Dr Palihawadana has had twenty-two years experience in the public health field. Her specialist areas are epidemiology and public health. She has demonstrated her talent in the implementation and evaluation of public health programmes and has had experience of field response in emergency and outbreak situations.
She has been the National Coordinator for disease surveillance in Tsunami affected areas and the National Programme Manager for Avian Influenza pandemic preparedness and polio eradication. She is adept at training medical and paramedical personnel and has skills in health research, project management and development, disease surveillance and immunization activities.
Dr Palihawadana has participated as an expert in many national and international meetings and conferences. She has also been an adviser to the Symposium for parliamentarians on child health and sustainable immunization financing, Kathmandu, Nepal and Cambodia in 2010, and Head of the Delegate, International Ministerial Conference on animal and pandemic Influenza, held in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010. She has recently been a member of the SAGE working group on rubella vaccines.
Dr Palihawadana has authored or been the co-author of over 27 publications on a large variety of health topics.
Last updated: 22 July 2011