Tatsat Chronicle Magazine

Economic Crisis May Lead to Higher Death Toll Than COVID-19, Warn Sri Lanka Doctors

The Sri Lanka Medical Association said hospitals in the country no longer have access to medical tools and drugs.
April 11, 2022
sri lanka crisis

Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis could lead to far more deaths than the Covid-19 pandemic, doctors warned on Sunday, as they are nearly out of life-saving medicines, say media reports. The country is stressed by power blackouts and acute food, fuel and pharmaceuticals shortages.

According to the news agency AFP, the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) said all hospitals in the country no longer had access to imported medical tools and vital drugs.

Several facilities have already suspended routine surgeries since the onset of the crisis last month, as the institutions were low on anaesthetics. The SLMA said that even emergency procedures may not be possible very soon.

“We are made to make very difficult choices. We have to decide who gets treatment and who will not,” AFP quoted the group after it sent a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa days earlier to warn him of the situation.

“If supplies are not restored within days, the casualties will be far worse than from the pandemic,” the group added.

Meanwhile, protesters continued to occupy the entrance of President Rajapaksa’s office for a second day on Sunday. While protests against him continue, the Sri Lankan President has invited the 11-party coalition allies comprising 42 independent Members of Parliament for a discussion on the country’s worst economic crisis, says a media report.