Colombo, Sri Lanka – According to the Medical Supplies Department’s (MSD) Out of Stock Medicines Report dated February 27, 2025, there is a critical shortage of 333 essential medicines across Sri Lanka’s healthcare system. Matale District Councilor Rohini Kaviratne strongly criticized the government in Parliament, questioning how a nation with such a severe medical crisis could still claim to be a democratic government.
Addressing Parliament, Kaviratne expressed her concerns, stating that throughout the budget discussions, government members have referred to Sri Lanka as a democratic government. However, she argued that a government allocating Rs. 20 billion to pay off SriLankan Airlines’ debts while neglecting the health sector cannot truly be democratic. She emphasized that a genuinely democratic government should prioritize public healthcare needs over corporate bailouts.
She further pointed out that the Deputy Minister of Health has acknowledged that it will take nine months to procure just 56 types of medicines, suggesting that it may take at least that long to import all 333 essential medicines currently out of stock. This prolonged delay, she argued, is the real crisis in the Ministry of Health.
Kaviratne accused the government of failing to establish a functional medicine procurement system. Traditionally, the Ministry of Health awards approximately 325 tenders annually for the purchase of major medicines. However, she stated that the existing tender process has collapsed, with the government treating Ministry of Health officials as thieves and obstructing their work.
In previous years, all medicine procurement tenders were awarded in November, allowing suppliers to be selected well in advance. However, she revealed that as of now, the government has not even initiated the procurement process for 2025, meaning that the medicine shortage is expected to persist until at least September 2025.
She criticized the government for mismanaging the medical supply chain, stating that even when Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy in 2022, the medicine shortage was not as severe as it is today. While acknowledging that inefficiencies exist within the Ministry of Health, she argued that labeling all officials as corrupt has worsened the crisis.
Kaviratne also raised concerns about the government’s decision to dismantle a digital medicine-tracking system introduced in 2016. This system allowed hospitals and medical suppliers to monitor stock availability in real time. She alleged that Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration shut down this app, making it impossible for authorities to track available medicine in hospitals and warehouses. She urged the government to restore the app with necessary upgrades to ensure accurate tracking of medical supplies.
The issue, she claimed, is not just the lack of medicine but also the lack of information to allow health authorities to efficiently distribute available supplies.
Kaviratne also criticized the abolition of medicine price regulations, which had been introduced under the Yahapalana government. She stated that in 2019, the regulation of medicine prices reduced the national expenditure on medicines from Rs. 14 billion to Rs. 4 billion, saving Rs. 10 billion. Additionally, contact lenses that previously cost Rs. 30,000 were reduced to Rs. 8,000. She blamed Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government for removing price controls, resulting in skyrocketing medicine costs once again.
She also criticized Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, reminding him that the World Bank first intervened in Sri Lanka’s healthcare sector in 2018, following an international health conference in Abu Dhabi attended by US President Jimmy Carter, Bill Gates, the President of the World Bank, and former Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne. As a result, Sri Lanka received Rs. 200 million from the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop public healthcare facilities for conducting routine medical check-ups. She accused the government of misrepresenting this initiative as a new policy, when in reality, it was an extension of the 2018 Good Governance Government’s healthcare reforms.
Turning to the specialist doctor crisis, Kaviratne revealed that Sri Lanka is currently facing a shortage of 780 specialist doctors, which will drop to 600 once the 2026 transfers take effect. She pointed out that 278 doctors returned to Sri Lanka after foreign training, but 100 of them left the country again shortly after reporting for duty.
The worst-affected medical fields include pediatrics, anesthesia, surgery, and neurosurgery. She stated that Mannar Hospital has been without a pediatrician for two weeks, while there are 70 pediatrician vacancies nationwide. She noted that while 180 surgeon positions exist, only 130 are filled, leaving 60 vacancies.
She further highlighted the severe shortage of anesthesiologists, particularly at Karapitiya Hospital, where abdominal, bypass, and neurosurgery units have no anesthesiologists available. Of the 225 positions for anesthesiologists, 65 remain unfilled. She also revealed that of the 25 anesthesiologists who returned from foreign training, 10 have already left the country again.
The shortage extends to ophthalmology (eye surgery), where more than 20 positions remain vacant. She noted that in the North Central Province, there are only two eye surgeons, while some districts have none at all.
Kaviratne blamed budget cuts for exacerbating the human resource crisis in the health sector, pointing out that holiday allowances for doctors, nurses, and paramedics have been slashed, leading many healthcare professionals to seek opportunities abroad. She warned that Sri Lanka is now producing healthcare professionals only to have them leave for Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and Canada.
The crisis is not limited to Western medicine, as Ayurvedic and Unani doctors are also in short supply, particularly in the Central Province, where 40% of medical staff positions remain unfilled.
Kaviratne concluded by stating that while the government claims to be populist, in practice, it is wasting public funds by prioritizing corporate bailouts—such as paying off SriLankan Airlines’ debts—instead of addressing critical healthcare needs.
