COLOMBO:
A shortage of medicine in Sri Lanka caused by an economic crisis will soon result in deaths, according to doctors, as hospitals are compelled to postpone life-saving surgeries for their patients due to a lack of drugs.

Sri Lanka imports more than 80% of its medical supplies, but as the country’s foreign currency reserves deplete due to the crisis, key pharmaceuticals are disappearing from shelves, and the healthcare system is on the verge of collapsing.

Patients, their loved ones, and doctors at the 950-bed Apeksha cancer hospital on the outskirts of Colombo’s commercial centre feel more helpless in the face of shortages that are forcing the suspension of tests and the postponing of operations including essential surgery.

“It is really harmful to cancer patients,” Dr. Roshan Amaratunga warned.

“Sometimes, we arrange for procedures in the morning, but we may not be able to do them that day… because (materials) are not available.”

Several patients would face a virtual death sentence if the condition does not improve rapidly, he said.

COVID-19, which has battered the tourism-dependent economy, rising oil costs, populist tax cuts, and a restriction on the import of chemical fertilisers, which has ravaged agriculture, have all contributed to Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis since independence in 1948.

About 180 things were running out, according to a government officer in charge of acquiring medical supplies, including dialysis injections, transplant drugs, and cancer treatments.

According to the official, Saman Rathnayake, supplies are being sent by India, Japan, and multilateral donors, although delivery could take up to four months.

Meanwhile, he noted, Sri Lanka has appealed to individual donors both at home and abroad for assistance.

Also Read

Sri Lanka in talks for $100 million emergency funding from Beijing-backed bank

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's finance ministry said on Sunday that the China-backed Asian...

‘TERRIBLE FEAR’

Doctors believe they are more concerned than the patients or their families since they are aware of the situation’s gravity and potential ramifications.

Dr Vasan Ratnasingam, a spokesman for the Government Medical Officers’ Association, compared the repercussions for those waiting for treatment to the ubiquitous lines for petrol and cooking gas.

“If people have to wait in line for drugs, they

Binuli Bimsara’s mother, who is four years old and is being treated for leukaemia, said she and her husband were afraid.

“We had some hope before since we had the medication, but now we are living in fear,” the mother explained.

“When we learn of a drug shortage, we feel helpless and our future looks bleak. We do not have the financial means to send our child abroad for treatment.”

Officials said Indian authorities supplied 25 tonnes of medical supplies and other relief on Sunday.

“At never time has India aided any other country to this level… This is something for which we are sincerely grateful,” Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, G.L. Peiris, said as he stood alongside a vessel bringing in goods at Colombo’s port.