Drugs worth Rs 10 bn received from US donors since last July

Health crisis

Sri Lanka, struggling to cope up with a severe shortage of life saving medicines has received US D 27 mn (nearly Rs 10 bn) worth of supplies from US humanitarian donors. Since the disruption of regular supplies due to the forex crisis, Sri Lanka has received substantial medical assistance from the international community besides the procurement made through the Indian credit line.

The Sri Lankan embassy in Washington said that altogether eight consignments had been received since July last year. The following is the text of a statement issued by the mission: “The Embassy of Sri Lanka to the United States, working in collaboration with renowned American humanitarian donor organizations, has achieved a significant milestone in provision of free medicine and medical supplies to Sri Lanka from July to present date. Eight consignments have already been sent to the Ministry of Health. The total value of the 8 consignments is approximately US Dollars 27 million. At current exchange rate, this is worth nearly Sri Lankan Rupees 10 billion.

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the United States, Mahinda Samarasinghe, who reached out to US donor organizations last year, has conveyed his heartfelt gratitude to the three donors, Heart to Heart International, Hope Worldwide and Americares for their generosity which has proved timely and potentially lifesaving for hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans in dire need. The Ambassador intends to continue working with humanitarian organizations and agencies to provide assistance to vulnerable segments of the population.

From July 2022, Heart to Heart International has sent four consignments worth over USD 23 million, Americares has sent three consignments worth over USD 853,000, which also contained Micronutrient supplements, essential for pregnant women. The last consignment from Hope International is worth over USD 2.7 million. The Ministry of Health which takes charge of the shipments will provide detailed distribution reports to the donors specifying the recipients and local destinations for these medicines and medical supplies.”