The Sri Lanka National Hospital in Colombo. Across the island nation, medical supplies are becoming scarce. Reuters
The Sri Lanka National Hospital in Colombo. Across the island nation, medical supplies are becoming scarce. Reuters
The Sri Lanka National Hospital in Colombo. Across the island nation, medical supplies are becoming scarce. Reuters
The Sri Lanka National Hospital in Colombo. Across the island nation, medical supplies are becoming scarce. Reuters

Sri Lanka's health system crumbles amid lack of basic drugs


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Sri Lanka’s health system is the latest casualty of a worsening economic collapse which has led to chronic shortages of food and fuel amid surging national debt and a sharp rise in the worldwide price of vital commodities.

Life-saving cancer drugs are running out and hospitals have been forced to cut back standard medical procedures, focusing on accident and emergency treatment.

Even basic medical equipment is in short supply and single-use medical items are being sterilised and reused, Reuters reports.

The government has less than $2 billion worth of foreign exchange reserves, equivalent to about one month of imports, but faces significantly higher debt repayments.

The lack of foreign exchange has left President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's government unable to import essentials; fuel shortages are causing crippling power cuts and bringing thousands of protesters on to the streets demanding his ousting.

The economy, which relies heavily on tourism, has been devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic and hit by the sharp rise in oil prices after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has made importing enough fuel unaffordable.

Some analysts have criticised Mr Rajapaksa's government for its decision in 2019 to make deep tax cuts and delay talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Those negotiations are now going ahead.

A close aide to Mr Rajapaksa has said previously that the tax cuts had been designed to boost the economy but that Covid-19 then struck.

The Sri Lanka Medical Association, the country's oldest professional medical body, wrote to Mr Rajapaksa last week warning him that even emergency treatments may have to be stopped in the coming days.

"This will result in a catastrophic number of deaths," the association said.

Saman Rathnayake, the secretary of Sri Lanka's Pharmaceuticals Ministry, said the government’s currency devaluation and rising debt means there is no quick fix. "This will not end in two months. The dollar crisis will go on."

But he said new sources of supply could help to alleviate immediate shortages.

Some medicines ordered through a credit line with neighbouring India, which supplies 80 per cent of the island's requirement, would likely arrive within two weeks.

"If this Indian credit line works, there won't be an issue for the next six months," Mr Rathnayake said.

Beyond that, Sri Lanka has sought help from the World Health Organisation, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

"Their things will come after six months," he said. "That is how we've planned."

Desperate for supplies, some doctors' groups have made public appeals for donations.

Running out of endotracheal (ET) tubes used to help newborn infants with respiratory distress, the Perinatal Society of Sri Lanka issued a list of supplies that can be donated via the Health Ministry.

"We have almost used all the stocks and no ET tubes will be available in few weeks," the society's president Saman Kumara said in a letter shared on social media.

"I have instructed [staff] not to discard used ET tubes but to clean and sterilise them from now onwards as we may have to reuse them."

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

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The Intruder

Director: Deon Taylor

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Michael Ealy, Meagan Good

One star

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Our legal advisor

Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation. 

Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
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The five pillars of Islam
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'

Director:Michael Lehmann

Stars:Kristen Bell

Rating: 1/5

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

BMW M5 specs

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Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
T20 World Cup Qualifier A, Muscat

Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain

Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain

Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines

Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals

Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final

UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia

All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv

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The Birkin bag is made by Hermès. 
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While you're here
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Her most famous song

Aghadan Alqak (Would I Ever Find You Again)?

Would I ever find you again
You, the heaven of my love, my yearning and madness;
You, the kiss to my soul, my cheer and
sadness?
Would your lights ever break the night of my eyes again?
Would I ever find you again?
This world is volume and you're the notion,
This world is night and you're the lifetime,
This world is eyes and you're the vision,
This world is sky and you're the moon time,
Have mercy on the heart that belongs to you.

Lyrics: Al Hadi Adam; Composer: Mohammed Abdel Wahab

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

Updated: April 12, 2022, 10:29 AM`