COLOMBO, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Applications for medical assistance under Sri Lanka's President's Fund increased 59 percent within a year after services were decentralized and digitized through Divisional Secretariat offices nationwide, the President's Media Division (PMD) said in a statement on Sunday.
The PMD said the fund received 5,277 applications in 2025, up from 3,313 in 2024. More than 70 percent of applicants have already received assistance.
Officials said decentralization allows citizens to apply closer to home and access services online, expanding welfare coverage beyond Colombo for the first time in decades.
The fund was established in 1978 to provide assistance for the relief of poverty, the advancement of education or knowledge, the advancement of religion, the making of awards to persons who have served the nation, and for any other purposes beneficial or of interest to the public. ■
