Covid-19 Crisis And Sri Lanka's Healthcare Response

Like many other countries, Sri Lanka faces numerous challenges in the battle against COVID-19.

- Priyanka Jayawardena

The pandemic has caused deep uncertainty and presented a colossal challenge for the country’s healthcare system.

With the rapid increase in cases and the emergence of new variants, Sri Lanka began to face shortages of medical resources, including hospital beds and medical equipment. The vaccination programme was beset with a host of problems early on, due to the irregular and inconsistent supply of vaccines, disorganised deployment and deviation from the scientifically agreed prioritisation.

There was also alleged misreporting of COVID-19 daily statistics in the Gampaha district and Eastern province. The absence of real-time data acted as a hindrance to obtain a reliable risk assessment in the country.

Against this backdrop, this article examines the gaps in the ongoing pandemic control programme and outlines ways to bridge these gaps so that more lives could be saved from COVID-19.

COVID-19 vaccination programme

By mid-August 2021, more than 12 million Sri Lankans (55 percent of the population) had been vaccinated with at least the first dose. Other than the delayed supply of vaccines, there were issues related to getting approval for vaccine use and the vaccination prioritisation process.

Moreover, many people were seen queuing up at vaccination centres aggravating health risks, due to the lack of a properly planned system for vaccine deployment and the lack of an online appointment system.

More recently, the government has taken several measures to improve the rollout, including expediting the procurement process and improving administration with the support of the defence services.

Gaps in pandemic control