The World Health Day was marked with a ceremony held at Arcade Independence Square in Colombo recently.
Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, WHO Representative to Sri Lanka Dr. Jacob Kumaresan and many others participated, health ministry sources said.
This year’s world Health Day theme was `Depression - Let’s Talk’.
Yoga workouts, music and drama programmes, art exhibitions, games and many other activities took place on the day.
Earlier WHO announced that around 800,000 Sri Lankans suffer from depression. Director of Mental Health and Consultant Community Physician Dr. Chithramalee de Silva said about 10 percent of Sri Lankans suffer from mental health problems and about two percent suffer from major psychiatric disorders.
Nearly 3,000 Sri Lankans commit suicide every year. About 40 percent men and 2.4 percent women above age 15 consume alcohol, she said.