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Bangladesh has gifted a large consignment of drugs and other medical supplies to Sri Lanka, its South Asian neighbour facing a severe shortage of essential drugs in an economic downturn.
The supplies worth around Tk20 crore, consisting of 56 types of lifesaving medicines, were handed over to Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Professor Sudharshan Seneviratne, at an event at the Padma State Guest House in Dhaka on Thursday.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Health Minister Zahid Maleque, and Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceuticals Industries (BAPI) President Nazmul Hasan Papan were present at the event.
Both Essential Drugs Company Limited (EDCL) – the lone 100% state-owned pharmaceutical company in Bangladesh – and BAPI have each contributed medicine worth Tk10 crore. The supplies are expected to reach the island nation within a few days.
For weeks, Sri Lanka's once-lauded public health system, free to its 22 million people, has come to a near standstill. As the country's economic meltdown drags on, surgeries are being postponed and hours-long power cuts have forced doctors to operate by torchlight.
With Sri Lanka's finances battered by diminished foreign-currency reserves and the worst inflation in Asia, hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies are struggling to procure life-saving drugs and medical equipment, reports Bloomberg.
Bangladesh offering medicine suggests its pharmaceuticals industry is capable of producing high-quality medicine, and has financial capacity. It also demonstrates Bangladesh's foreign policy resolve in maintaining friendly and cooperative relations with her neighbours.
Dhaka earlier supported Colombo by providing $200 million in a currency swap arrangement.
Noting that every country is facing challenges of its own to varying degrees, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said mutual collaboration is more essential than ever before in these trying times.
The dual impact of the Covid-19 pandemic resulting in supply chain disruption, and the war between Russia and Ukraine, have adversely affected the global economy, he added.
"We also stand ready to extend further support to Sri Lanka in all possible ways we can," he said.
The foreign minister said this medical assistance to the friendly people of Sri Lanka is an expression of solidarity and friendship between the two nations when they are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations this year.
He said Bangladeshi products have by now earned a good name in the global pharmaceutical market due to high quality and competitive pricing. "We are also exporting [medicine] to Sri Lanka."
Without drastic measures, medical groups warn that import disruptions could lead to thousands of deaths. Public anger at the government is reaching a fever pitch: Sri Lankans have swarmed the streets of Colombo, the capital, protesting the lack of medicine and other goods, and demanding the resignation of embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
To ease shortages, Sri Lanka's diaspora is now flying in supplies to patients and doctors, though these gestures seem to be little more than band-aids.
At Thursday's ceremony, the Sri Lankan high commissioner expressed his government's gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government for this friendly gesture.
He noted that Sri Lanka values the friendly relationship with Bangladesh and is committed to further strengthening it in the coming days. He termed the gifting of the medicines as another demonstration that the trajectory of bilateral relations was moving in the right direction.
Last month, the Sri Lankan government warned of dwindling supplies of more than 100 medical items. Many are subject to price controls that haven't kept pace with the local currency's recent devaluations, making importers reluctant to ship pharmaceutical goods at a loss.
Bangladesh gifts essential medicines worth Tk20cr to Sri Lanka
The country is struggling to procure lifesaving drugs and medical equipment amid financial crisis
