- Chilaw, Wattegama, Mahiyangana hospitals damaged
- Medical equipment destroyed, services disrupted
The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) yesterday (6) recommended that the Ministry of Health ask donors to obtain prior approval before donating pharmaceutical supplies, in order to avoid wastage of donated items that are either not needed or already available within the country.
NMRA Chairman Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama told The Sunday Morning that supplies from Bangladesh and Myanmar had been received by the authority and that they were in the process of being assessed for necessity before approval and distribution.
As Sri Lanka grapples with the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, communities across the nation face a shortage of over 100 essential medicines, along with the destruction of medical equipment and hospitals following the disaster, as learnt by The Sunday Morning.
It is also learnt that hospitals such as Wattegama in Kandy, Mahiyangana, and Chilaw have reportedly been damaged due to cyclone-induced disasters, with continuous communication and access to such areas still not possible.
Another 100 small hospitals across the country have also been submerged by floods, it is reliably learnt.
When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) Assistant Secretary and Media Spokesman Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe noted that although medicine shortages in hospitals nationwide were still prevalent, it was difficult to give a proper estimate since the medicine stocks of most affected hospitals had been destroyed by flooding.
As of Friday (5), it was reported that medical equipment – such as CT scan and echocardiogram machines, incubators, and more at the Chilaw Hospital – had been damaged, thus hindering medical services.
“At the moment, the entirety of the health sector is focused mainly on managing the disaster situation and addressing lifesaving and health-related complications of displaced communities,” Dr. Wijesinghe said.
According to him, chronic illnesses and communicable diseases such as dengue and leptospirosis (rat fever), as well as skin conditions are being exacerbated by the disaster, adding to the shortage of medicines and equipment, which had already been a challenge prior to the current crisis.