Dr. Udayangani Kumudu Sriya Samarakkody (Udaya), an alumna of Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo 04, has been appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in the King’s Birthday Honours, 2026, for services to Paediatric Surgery and the Sri Lankan community.
“Dr Udaya Samarakkody has contributed to Paediatric Surgery and the Sri Lankan community in New Zealand for more than 30 years as a consultant paediatric surgeon and paediatric urologist at Waikato Hospital.
Dr Samarakkoy was President of the New Zealand Society of Paediatric Surgeons from 2010 to 2013 and is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Paediatric Surgeons. Since 2005, she has been an instructor for the Australia and New Zealand Surgical Skills Education and Training course of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and has served on the Education Executive Committee of the Waikato Clinical School. She has published extensively on paediatric surgery and on improving disparity of care. She has trained more than 50 surgeons nationally and internationally. She developed an extensive outreach service to New Zealand’s Midland health region, improving equity of surgical care for rural and Māori children. She co-founded the Sri Lankan Doctors and Dentists Association in New Zealand in 2021 and is Co-Chair. She has held several governance roles with the Sri Lanka Friendship Society Waikato since 1999, introducing and developing many community programmes and annual celebrations, including an annual cultural concert which has run for more than 25 years. Dr Samarakkody received University of Auckland teaching excellence awards in 2019 and 2020.”
Dr. Samarakkody delivered the 34th Susan George Pulimood Memorial Oration in July 2025, organised by the Visakha Vidyalaya Old Girls’ Association, on the topic “No Margin for Error: Precision, Passion & Perseverance.” Through her distinguished career in paediatric surgery—a field traditionally dominated by men and often considered an impossible vocation for female medical graduates—she has broken barriers and inspired generations of women to pursue excellence in medicine.
The Visakha Vidyalaya Old Girls’ Association extends its heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Samarakkody on this prestigious honour and wishes her continued success in all her future endeavours.
Source – https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/honours/lists/kb2026-mnzm#samarakkodyud
New Zealand Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet – King’s Birthday Honours 2026
