Sri Lanka medical group warns of catastrophic shortages that could cost lives

Sri Lankan government medical officers protest outside the national hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka (Eranga Jayawardena/AP)

Hospitals in Sri Lanka will soon be unable to provide even emergency services because of critical shortages of drugs and medical equipment caused by the country’s economic crisis, it was warned.

There are fears of a “catastrophic number of deaths” if supplies are not replenished.