“I have a 10-month-old baby. I couldn’t even buy her medicine when she was sick last week,” said Gunarathna Vaani, who lives in the suburbs of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital. “There are no stocks of drugs available on the market. Even basic tablets like paracetamol or Benadryl are not there. I had to borrow drugs from my neighbors to treat my baby,” said she declared. DW.

Pointing to the empty shelves in the market, Vaani explained how she struggled to get powdered milk for her child, as well as her struggles to stock up on gas and kerosene for cooking. She worked as a seamstress and earned around 500 Sri Lankan rupees (€1.31, $1.36) a day. But now she has no job amid the economic turmoil.

“It’s getting very difficult to make ends meet. We’re getting help from my brothers and that’s how we’re surviving for now. I don’t know how many days it’s going to continue because the people helping us are going through also hard times,” Vaani said. “My husband can’t work. He had an accident last year after which his right hand became paralyzed. He can’t move it. Now I don’t have a job either.” Vaani is not an isolated case in this South Asian country.

A serious economic crisis

Much of Sri Lanka’s 22 million people face severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine as the island nation grapples with one of the worst economic crises since its independence in 1948. he economy has been hit by the COVID pandemic which has destroyed the tourism industry. – a key revenue generator for the country – and has affected other major sectors as well as foreign remittances.

At the same time, the government has accumulated a mountain of debt by borrowing heavily from foreign investors and countries. He also implemented tax cuts at the wrong time and temporarily banned the import of chemical fertilizers in a bid to encourage organic farming, a move that backfired as farmers didn’t could not grow enough crops, leading to food shortages. The heavy debt burden and the erosion of foreign exchange reserves have triggered a balance of payments crisis, making it difficult to finance essential imports such as life-saving medicines.

The health system bends under shortages

Worst of all is the unavailability of medicine, said Jaya Kannika, a mother of three who lives about two kilometers (1.24 miles) from Vaani’s. Her mother, who has diabetes, does not have enough medication to control her blood sugar levels. “When we went for a checkup three months ago, they gave my mum some medicine and told her to only take it if necessary because they didn’t have enough medicine in stock” , Kannika said. DW. “When I felt sick last week, I didn’t go to the hospital because I know they won’t treat me,” she added.

The vast majority of Sri Lankans cannot afford treatment in private hospitals and instead rely on the universal public healthcare system. But with the shortage of life-saving drugs and the cancellation of surgeries, the system is on the verge of collapse, hitting ordinary people hard.

Kannika has three daughters, aged 8, 12 and 13. “Sometimes they ask me to buy things that I cannot afford. It hurts me as a mother. One of the teachers helped my eldest daughter to buy books for her studies. also send to school fees,” she said, blaming family problems on soaring costs across the board. Consumer price inflation in Sri Lanka – already at 30% – is expected to s accelerating to 46% in the third quarter, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

High food prices leave people hungry

Soaring food prices have also forced people like Baakiyam, a 71-year-old man who lives alone in Nuwara Eliya district in the country’s central province, to go hungry. “Before, I worked as a day laborer. But now there is not much work. Sometimes I eat, sometimes I don’t. I can’t afford to buy a lot.” Soaring inflation, shortages of essential items and long power outages have fueled public fury against the government led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his influential family.

Clashes erupted this week between supporters and opponents of the government, killing several people, including an MP from the ruling Sri Lanka People’s Front (SLPP) party, and injuring hundreds. After the violence broke out, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa – the president’s older brother – resigned and took refuge in a naval base.

To control the situation, the government imposed a state of emergency and curfews, in addition to granting sweeping powers to the military and police, including orders to shoot looters on sight. Security forces patrolling in armored personnel carriers appear to have largely restored order, but the situation remains tense across the country.

Crushing debt levels

President Gotabaya has defied calls for resignation, pledging instead to form a unity government. But the opposition has so far refused to join and has called for cutting the powers of the presidency. The central bank governor said on May 11 that he would step down within weeks unless political stability was restored in the country. Sri Lanka has $8.6 billion in debt due this year and Colombo needs to strike a deal with its creditors and the International Monetary Fund to stabilize its finances and end crippling shortages of essential goods. Many ordinary people say they are afraid to talk about their situation for fear that it could negatively affect them and their community. Kannika said she hopes things will change but doesn’t see it happening in the foreseeable future.