Sri Lankans are now losing physicians as many leave for the Middle East and Western nations with better possibilities after they had previously lost access to them when their country descended into a financial crisis earlier this year.
In the midst of the biggest economic crisis since Sri Lanka's 1948 victory over the British, people have been battling with regular power outages and shortages of essential goods. With no foreign exchange reserves, the 22 million-person island nation was unable to pay for imports after declaring default in April.
Medical experts in the nation that depends on imported pharmaceuticals for around 85% of its pharmaceutical requirements have been raising the alarm for months, claiming they are having difficulty giving patients prompt and effective care. Hundreds of them have recently been forced to quit due to the poor working conditions and lack of change; the exodus, according to Sri Lanka's Foreign Employment Bureau, is a growing trend.
“There is a rising trend in professionals moving out of the island in search of greener pastures because of the current situation in the country,” the bureau’s general manager Priyantha Senanayake told Arab News earlier this week. “A good number of doctors too have left.”
Data from the Government Medical Officers’ Association shows that at least 500 doctors from state medical institutions have migrated abroad in the first eight months of 2022. But the real number may be much higher. Dr. Ruvaiz Haniffa, former president of the Sri Lanka Medical Association, said at least 100 more doctors working in the private sector have left too, while those who traveled for training and have not returned have yet to be counted.
In the midst of the biggest economic crisis since Sri Lanka's 1948 victory over the British, people have been battling with regular power outages and shortages of essential goods. With no foreign exchange reserves, the 22 million-person island nation was unable to pay for imports after declaring default in April.
Medical experts in the nation that depends on imported pharmaceuticals for around 85% of its pharmaceutical requirements have been raising the alarm for months, claiming they are having difficulty giving patients prompt and effective care. Hundreds of them have recently been forced to quit due to the poor working conditions and lack of change; the exodus, according to Sri Lanka's Foreign Employment Bureau, is a growing trend.
“There is a rising trend in professionals moving out of the island in search of greener pastures because of the current situation in the country,” the bureau’s general manager Priyantha Senanayake told Arab News earlier this week. “A good number of doctors too have left.”
Data from the Government Medical Officers’ Association shows that at least 500 doctors from state medical institutions have migrated abroad in the first eight months of 2022. But the real number may be much higher. Dr. Ruvaiz Haniffa, former president of the Sri Lanka Medical Association, said at least 100 more doctors working in the private sector have left too, while those who traveled for training and have not returned have yet to be counted.
