SRI LANKANS IN THE UAE TREAT MEDICAL CRISIS BY SENDING SUPPLIES HOME
▶ Welfare group says Dh90,000 worth of healthcare equipment and medicine has been shipped to stricken nation
Sri Lankans living in the UAE have sent life-saving medical supplies back home as hospitals run out of medicine amid a worsening economic crisis.
Communities in the Emirates, as well as the UK and India, regularly join online meetings held by government officials who discuss the needs of health centres.
Sri Lankans have tried to boost stocks by contacting medical suppliers and asking for equipment such as ventilator tubes for newborns, catheters and syringes.
They have also sought insulin vials, as well as chemotherapy and cardiac medication.
Some of these vital supplies have been packed in warehouses in Dubai and flown to Sri Lanka.
The shipments bear labels featuring the UAE and Sri Lankan national flags and the message: with love and care Sri Lankans in the UAE.
“Expatriates have been a great support to us in this difficult juncture. They have helped to bridge the gap with donor activities all over the world,” Dr Anver Hamdani, the co-ordinator for Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health, told The National from Colombo.
“If not for this voluntary overseas effort of Sri Lankans coming forward, we would have found it very hard to manage an acute crisis on a day-today basis.”
The World Bank has agreed to provide Sri Lanka with $600 million in financial assistance to help meet payments for essential imports, while India, Indonesia and China have also pledged support.
But that aid will take time to arrive and hospitals are in need of immediate assistance.
Sri Lankans living overseas have leapt into action to answer the call for help from the island nation.
Many were prompted to help after hearing an audio recording of a desperate doctor speaking to colleagues this month.
The doctor said endotracheal tubes, which are connected to ventilators, would need to be sterilised and reused in the neonatal unit of his hospital owing to a lack of supplies. Once the equipment from abroad arrives in the capital Colombo, it is sent to about 400 hospitals that have reported shortages.
“These supplies have helped so many institutions. They come and tell us how these supplies are going to save so many lives,” Dr Hamdani said.
“There is a shortage of medicine that we are trying to overcome by identifying the vital and essential drugs needed for the country.”
Medics in the country have also received support from organisations such as Sahana, a Sri Lankan welfare group in the UAE, and the Narayana Reddy Foundation in India, as well as groups in the UK, US and Australia.
Isthiaq Raziq, president of Sahana, said the group was also working with Sri Lankans living in Australia and Canada who were keen to join the aid initiative. More than Dh90,000 ($24,500) worth of medical supplies has been sent home so far, he said.
“The community has come together, regardless of any association, knowing there is a medical crisis and that Sri Lanka does not have the liquidity to purchase these medications,” he said.
“We have been dispatching emergency supplies for the past three weeks.”
Residents in the Emirates have also packed supplies in their luggage when they travel back to their country.
“The UAE being very close it’s easier to reach supplies because there are a dozen flights going to Sri Lanka,” Mr Raziq said.
The effects of the economic crisis in the country have sparked nationwide protests against the government.
Sri Lanka is facing record inflation, food and fuel shortages and power cuts. The country normally imports about 85 per cent of the medical supplies it needs. But a lack of foreign currency reserves means it has run out of US dollars to pay for imported goods, increasing the pressure on the healthcare system.
Some essential medicine and surgical supplies gathered by residents of India and Indonesia have reached Sri Lanka.
But doctors believe it could take at least another month for the healthcare crisis to ease and the impact of international donations to take effect.
Dr Hamdani, who was also in charge of co-ordinating the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, said people could email the ministry for more information about what medical supplies were needed.
“Whoever is willing to help us out can reach us through email. We will send all the details, list of drugs, explain the process, the necessary documents and liaise with them,” he said.
If not for this voluntary overseas effort, we would have found it very hard to manage an acute crisis on a day-to-day basis
DR ANVER HAMDANI
Sri Lankan Ministry of Health