Janashakthi ties-up with President’s Fund to enlarge healthcare assistance

From left: J.M. Wijebandara - Advisor to the President (Legal Affairs), Presidential Secretariat ; G.G.S.C Roshan – Secretary,  President’s Fund; C.T.A Schaffter - Founder & Chairman Emeritus, JXG (Janashakthi Group) ; Ramesh Schaffter – MD/Group CEO, JXG (Janashakthi Group) ; Gamika De Silva – Group Chief Marketing Officer, JXG (Janashakthi Group) ; Dilshan Wirasekara - Deputy CEO, JXG (Janashakthi Group). 
Pic by Kithsiri de Mel

Janashakthi Foundation, the philanthropic arm of JXG (Janashakthi Group) this week announced its partnership with the President’s Fund, to expand healthcare related financial assistance for children under 18 years, beginning 15 May 2026. 
Under this initiative, the President’s Fund will identify, screen and approve applicants seeking additional funding.  Following approval, the President’s Fund will cover part of the treatment cost, while Janashakthi Foundation will contribute an equal amount or the remaining balance, whichever is lover.
JXG Managing Director/Group CEO Ramesh Schaffter sharing insights on the significance of the collaboration said, “This important public-private collaboration that reflects a shared purpose, is aimed at strengthening broader access to healthcare for children across the country, addressing gaps in access to timely and adequate medical care.  Despite the support provided by the President’s Fund, many families still face financial shortfalls when covering the full cost of a child’s medical treatment. This scheme addresses these gaps, enabling faster access to necessary care, including complex and potentially overseas procedures. The facility could be described as a supplementary financial top-up and a value addition to President Fund’s existing efforts, rather than a primary funding source.
“Implemented under the theme ‘Safeguarding Today to Shape Tomorrow’, the collaboration marks a unique and longstanding partnership with a national fund. We have initially signed a MoU for one-year, and that will be renewable, JXG MD added. 
Senior Additional Secretary to the President/ Secretary - President’s Fund G.G.S.C. Roshan noted, “This new initiative is in one way a victory for the country’s people, and also a blessing for the children. Along with digitalisation and decentralisation of activities, the Fund has received a considerable amount of medical applications specially from children in distant villages, and we believe this partnership will deliver a meaningful and measurable impact across Sri Lanka. We particularly appreciate the trust placed by the Foundation in the complete transparency and public accountability of all funding decisions and allocations by the Fund.”
Sharing views on the project initiation and implementation phases, JXG Group Chief Marketing Officer Gamika De Silva told Mirror Business that there had been discussions for about a year with the President’s Fund.  “We had to look at the statistics. Some of the statistics had to be collected and also forecast for whatever the increase. Because the Fund was in the digitising phase, we had to keep provision for that as well, and thereafter we carefully analysed all the sectors strategically.”
“Initially, we didn’t realise it’s the kids, we looked at all sectors and then later on, following several rounds of discussion we figured out that children are the most important part and it aligns well with our company’s vision . So, we studied the whole thing to look at where the real need is and what actually impacts. This is our first major project under the Foundation,” De Silva explained.
Sharing views on the level of current Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitments in the country in general, De Silva said that he believes there’s a growing need, a growing interest on this area. “There are a lot of corporates, Multinational Corporations (MNC) etc operating in the country doing it well at the moment. Sri Lanka is on the right track, and corporates have understood the requirement of a sustainable society and it has become a management practice,” he added. (IS)