The South Asian nation of Sri Lanka is in financial ruin. The country is short of money to import basic items like fuel and food, and is running out of medicine. Some doctors have donated medicine supplies or tried to get money to buy these items. They are also appealing for help from Sri Lankans living abroad. The ongoing economic crisis and political instability in the country show no signs of abating.
Fifteen-year-old Hasini Vasana is struggling to find the medicine she needs to save her transplanted kidney. He had a kidney transplant nine months ago. He needs medication for the rest of his life to prevent his body from rejecting the transplanted organ. “We are being told (by the hospital) that they don’t know when they will get medicine again,” said Ishara Thilini, Hasini’s older sister. Cancer hospitals in Sri Lanka are also struggling to maintain a stock of essential drugs to ensure uninterrupted treatment. Sri Lanka Medical Association President Samath Dharmaratne said, “There is a serious situation in the country. Don’t get sick, don’t get injured, don’t do anything that would require you to go to the hospital for unnecessary treatment.”
Head of the Kidney Hospital in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, Dr. Charles Nugawela said his hospital is running because of the generosity of donors, but he has arranged to give the medicine only to patients whose disease has progressed to a stage where they need dialysis.
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