Medical Officer, National Dengue Control Unit,
Ministry of Health,
Sri Lanka
lahirundcu@gmail.com
Dr. K.A.L.C Kodituwakku
A medical doctor by profession and a strong believer of community resilience and community engagement in disaster risk reduction. Dr. Kodituwakku is currently working as the Disaster Management Focal Point Medical Officer, National Dengue Control Unit, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka. With an academic background in both public health and disaster management, he has been involved in the preparedness, mitigation and response of recent disasters including COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka.
His most recent placements include, Health Ministry Coordination Unit at National Operations Center for Prevention of COVID-19 outbreak, Sri Lanka (NOC PCO) and Epidemiological Officer, Wolbachia Project of World Mosquito Programme (A collaboration between Monash University, Australia and Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka).
He conducted numerous training programmes on community resilience in disaster management, including a recent training for community leaders in all 26 districts of Sri Lanka on COVID-19 outbreak mitigation and prevention jointly implemented by UNICEF and “Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement”, the largest Community Based Organization in Sri Lanka.
His research interests include infectious disease epidemiology with emphasis on Dengue, community resilience in disasters and disaster risk reduction with emphasis on safe hospital concept. He has undergone numerous international trainings related to disasters including Hospital Preparedness for Emergencies (HOPE) by Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and Health Emergencies in Large Populations (HELP) by ICRC/University of Hawaii. He is a curriculum evaluator for the Community Action for Disaster Response (CADRE) of ADPC.
He is a life member of the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka and Vice President of Sri Lanka Association of Disaster Medicine.
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lahiru-Kodithuwakku
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lahiru-kodithuwakku-968465130/