Sri Lanka: Doctors scramble for basic medicines as economic crisis engulfs nation

Doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers from Sri Lanka’s public health services took to the streets of Colombo on 6 April to protest the growing shortage of basic drugs and medical supplies amid the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.

The protests came a day after the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, elected in 2019 by a large margin, was forced to revoke a state of emergency that took effect on 1 April after his coalition government collapsed.

The order was meant to “ensure public security and order” but has failed to do so. Sri Lanka is battling huge debts and a severe dearth of foreign currency reserves which has left the government unable to pay for imports, triggering food …