Preparing Sri Lanka's public health nursing workforce for the future with UK collaboration

As Sri Lanka's population ages and the burden of non-communicable diseases continues to grow, the role of community-based health services is becoming increasingly important. Meeting these evolving health needs requires a health workforce equipped not only with clinical knowledge, but also with the skills to support people throughout the life course, close to where they live.

Public Health Nursing Officers (PHNOs) are at the forefront of this effort. Working within communities across the country, they play a vital role in health promotion, disease prevention and connecting individuals and families with essential health services.

Recognising the need to further strengthen this workforce, WHO Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Health and International Academy of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN-UK)  have been collaborating since 2024 to enhance PHNO training and professional development.

The partnership emerged from a shared recognition that Sri Lanka's changing health profile requires new and expanded competencies within community nursing.

A recent review of PHNO training identified opportunities to strengthen knowledge and practical skills in areas including dementia care, psychosocial support, rehabilitation, palliative care and professional development. These are increasingly important as the country responds to population ageing, noncommunicable diseases and growing demand for long-term and community-based care.

Through technical and financial support from WHO and nursing expertise from RCN-UK, the collaboration has focused on strengthening hands-on competencies needed to deliver people-centred care in communities. At the same time, updates to the PHNO teaching curriculum is in progress to align it to the quality standards of care practiced by community nursing system in the UK.

Since 2024, national workshops and training programmes have reached approximately 300 PHNOs and nursing students across Sri Lanka.

The most recent milestone was the June 2026 training programme for the third cohort of 100 newly inducted PHNOs. The two-day programme brought together Ministry of Health experts, national trainers and RCN-UK specialists to strengthen practical skills in service mapping and referrals, health promotion communication, dementia care, holistic palliative care, nutrition, documentation, mentorship and ethical community nursing practice.  

Beyond technical content, the training provided a platform for exchanging experiences and adapting international nursing practices to local service delivery realities, helping ensure that PHNOs are equipped to address the increasingly complex needs of individuals, families and communities.

To ensure that learning translates into improved service delivery, the collaboration has expanded beyond workshops to support longer-term workforce development.

Strengthening workforce capacity requires more than training alone, to develop future workforce aligned with global standards. RCN-UK is supporting the Ministry of Health and the Post Basic College of Nursing in modernising the PHNO diploma curriculum, helping ensure that future generations of nurses are prepared for emerging health priorities.

In parallel, a practical deployment toolkit has been developed to help PHNOs apply newly acquired skills in the field. By enabling nurses to document how competencies are used in practice and receive feedback from supervisors, the toolkit supports continuous learning and professional growth.

Together, these efforts reflect a shift from one-off capacity-building activities towards a more sustainable approach to workforce development, linking education, supervision and service delivery.

The collaboration between WHO Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Health and RCN-UK demonstrates how international partnerships can support national priorities through knowledge exchange, technical expertise and investment in the health workforce.

As Sri Lanka continues to advance primary health care, strengthening the capacity of Public Health Nursing Officers will remain essential to ensuring that communities receive the responsive, people-centered services they need.

By investing in the nursing workforce today, Sri Lanka is helping build a stronger foundation for tomorrow's health challenges.

This initiative also supports implementation of the WHO Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel (2010) by fostering a reciprocal UK–Sri Lanka partnership that strengthens the community-level health workforce in Sri Lanka.