From Capacity to Action: Charting National Genomic Sequencing Services Roadmap for Precision Health in Sri Lanka

Introduction: Genomic sequencing (GS) is a powerful tool in modern medicine underpinning disease surveillance, precision diagnostics, antimicrobial resistance monitoring, and public health research. Sri Lanka has developed laboratory and research infrastructure, but lacks a unified national roadmap for GS services. This study aimed to assess GS capacity in Sri Lanka, identify key challenges, and prioritise strategies to guide roadmap development.
Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed in 2025 among professionals, including medical administrators (25%), consultants (30%), academics (20%) and laboratory technologists (25%). Data were collected via a validated self-administered questionnaire (Cronbach’s α = 0.87) and a resource mapping tool. Quantitative results were summarised using descriptive statistics; qualitative data were thematically synthesised. Proposed strategic actions were ranked using a Delphi-based scoring framework.
Results: Significant gaps emerged: infrastructure inadequacies (N=80; 68%), funding shortages (N=80; 72%), limited bioinformatics capacity (N=80; 25%), and weak inter-institutional coordination (N=80; 64%). Resource mapping revealed that while equipment was available in many institutions, 78% reported a critical shortage of trained personnel. The highest-priority strategies (mean scores out of 5) were: establishing national governance (4.8), workforce training (4.6), enhancing data sharing (4.5), integrating GS into health policy (4.3), strengthening ethical or legal frameworks (4.1) and developing sustainable funding (3.9).
Conclusions and Recommendations: Although Sri Lanka has foundational infrastructure for GS, critical gaps in human resources, governance, and financing constrain its utility. A coordinated roadmap addressing governance, capacity building, data integration, and sustainability is urgently needed to harness GS for health, research, and national health security.