Sri Lanka's economic crisis might lead to "worse" death toll than COVID-19, warns medical body

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• Apr 11, 2022 | Pratiksha

"We are made to make very difficult choices. We have to decide who gets treatment and who will not... If supplies are not restored within days, the casualties will be far worse than from the pandemic," 

Digital Desk: Amid the island nation's increasing economic crisis, physicians have warned that they are running out of life-saving medications and that the scarcity might result in a 'greater' death toll than the COVID-19 epidemic. The Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) cautioned that the nation lacked access to critical pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

Over the weekend, the SLMA sent a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in which they stated that if supplies are not provided, the consequent deaths might be considerably worse than the pandemic.

"We are made to make very difficult choices. We have to decide who gets treatment and who will not... If supplies are not restored within days, the casualties will be far worse than from the pandemic," The Guardian quoted the letter as saying.

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Sri Lanka has been in the grip of a huge economic crisis, exacerbated by the COVID-19 epidemic and, according to economists, by poor debt management and rash taxing choices. The country of 22 million people is facing a $51 billion debt that has exhausted its foreign reserves. Rising inflation has driven up the cost of critical goods such as gasoline to previously unheard-of levels. Skyrocketing costs have damaged Sri Lanka's transportation, medical, and other critical infrastructure.

Various hospitals have already delayed basic surgeries, in part because to the inconsistent power supply caused by almost 13-hour power outages in many sections of the nation. In the midst of calls for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation, newly-appointed Foreign Minister Ali Sabry stated that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will provide $3 billion to sustain Sri Lanka's balance of payments for the next three years.