Dear Colleagues,

It is a great honour and privilege to be the President of the College of Otorhinolaryngologists and Head and Neck Surgeons of Sri Lanka. We have come a long way since the inception of our association in 1979 and the transformation into a professional College in 2002. I am grateful to all the past presidents and councils, and especially to the immediate past president, Dr. C. Narampanawa and his council, for the services rendered to uplifting the knowledge and professional needs of our members and for the betterment of the ENT services in Sri Lanka. Along with my council, I will do my best to carry forward the good work done by my predecessors.

We have the important task of hosting the 14^th SAARC ENT Congress in Colombo from the 3^rd to the 6^th of September this year. Plans and preparations are underway to make it one of the best and most memorable events in the SAARC region, as we have done in 2004 and 2014. There will be many experts from the East, West, and SAARC region gathering in the hospitable and friendly environs of our country, sharing their knowledge, ideas, and expertise. I invite all of you to contribute in whatever possible way to make it a success.

As a Professional College, we are committed to continued medical education and professional development. We are in the process of planning CME sessions in June and December 2026 with our local resource persons. There will be monthly online talks and interesting case discussions by young ENT surgeons who have fresh and up-to-date knowledge. Further, we would like to improve and utilize our cadaveric laboratory facility in the ENT Unit/NHSL for postgraduate trainees to get training in cadaveric temporal bone, Endoscopic Sinus surgery, laryngeal dissections, and demonstrations.

We need support from the Ministry of Health for the provision and improvement of ENT care in the country. We will engage with ministry officials regularly to discuss our issues and concerns with regard to staffing, equipment, etc. Considering the dearth of ENT trainees enrolling in the programme, we need to emphasize the need for allocation of a certain percentage of post-intern medical officers to ENT units, as they might develop a liking for ENT as a career.

We have established ENT units covering most parts of the country, yet we are facing the threat of closing these units in the years to come due to not having adequate qualified surgeons.  A sufficient number of postgraduate trainees not choosing ENT is a great concern. Lack of basic knowledge in ENT, its scope, and the opportunities in the field could be a reason for this. We need to address this at the undergraduate level, as there are no uniform ENT teaching sessions in the curricula of different medical faculties.

Finally, I kindly request all our ENT colleagues to actively participate in College activities and also in the teaching and examination processes of undergraduate and postgraduate activities, in addition to your patient care commitments, as responsible professionals. We need your support and encouragement on this journey.

Dr. Amal Fernando
President – CORLHNS