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One mother’s fight for a safe delivery: What it’s like to give birth in Lanka right now

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4 years ago

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(UNFPA) When Ruchika found out she was pregnant with her second child in October last year she felt confident that she knew what to expect. Nine months later, she spent the day before her due date in a fuel queue pleading with an army officer and restless crowds so she could buy fuel to get to the hospital the next day and give birth.

“The majority of the crowd was sympathetic,” Ruchika says. “The authorities allowed me to buy the fuel I needed after examining my medical documents to confirm my situation but there were still a few who were shouting at us.”

Before the crisis, 99 percent  of deliveries in Sri Lanka took place at  healthcare facilities. A lack of public or private transport due to the economic crisis will risk thousands of women being unable to get to a hospital or clinic in time. Ruchika made it to the hospital the next day but fuel was not the only struggle she faced to bring her baby safely into the world.

Two months before her due date, Ruchika saw a post online from a woman who was asked by a state hospital to bring her own gloves, blades and other basic materials needed for her delivery. “The hospital had run out and had no way to replenish their stocks,” Ruchika says.  “I immediately called my doctor and asked about the availability of supplies and if I needed to make preparations as well.”

Ruchika saw a post online from a woman who was asked by a state hospital to bring her own gloves, blades and other basic supplies needed for her delivery.

 “’We have the equipment for now,’ is what he told me,” she recalls. “But he couldn’t give me any assurances about what the situation would be in two months when my baby was due. I was worried about how bad things would get so I asked my doctor twice if my baby could be delivered safely even if it was two months early.”

The doctor refused saying the risk to the baby’s health was too high to consider inducing. “He assured me that as long as I got to the hospital in time he would make sure we were both healthy but even that was such a struggle. The week before my delivery my husband asked about my doctor’s fuel status because we’d heard so many stories of doctors and nurses not being able to report to work because of the fuel crisis.”

“We’d heard so many stories of doctors and nurses not being able to report to work because of the fuel crisis.”

Ruchika’s four-and-a-half-year-old daughter got sick the week her new baby was born and they had to go to six pharmacies to find the nebulizer needed to treat her asthma. Weeks after giving birth, Ruchika is past the date when her stitches were meant to be removed. She is waiting for her doctor to let her know when she can come in as he is required to save the limited fuel he has to travel only when one of his other patients goes into active labour.

An estimated 215,000 women like Ruchika are currently pregnant in Sri Lanka and 145,000 will give birth in the next six months. Approximately 60,000 of these women may require surgical intervention.[3] As the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA is on the ground working to meet the critical health and protection needs of the most vulnerable women and girls.

UNFPA is providing supplies, medication and cash and voucher assistance for pregnant women to have a safe pregnancy and childbirth. On protection services UNFPA is keeping shelters open with expanded services so more women have a safe space to turn to while providing life-saving medication for women and young people.

Together with its partners, UNFPA will continue to support the life-saving health and protection needs of women and girls during the socio-economic crisis while strengthening institutional capacities to respond to public health emergencies.


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Heat Index at ‘Caution level’ in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Anuradhapura, Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts

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4 hours ago

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2026/03/26

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Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of  Meteorology
at 3.30 p.m. on 25 March 2026, valid for 26 March 2026.

The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in
Anuradhapura, Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry
of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

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US dodges question on AKD’s claim SL denied permission for military aircraft to land

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4 hours ago

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2026/03/26

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President

By Shamindra Ferdinando

A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Colombo declared that the United States and Sri Lanka maintain a long-standing defence partnership, grounded in transparency, mutual respect, and shared interests.

The official said so in response to The Island query regarding President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s recent bombshell disclosure, in Parliament, that his government declined to allow the US Air Force to use the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, following the eruption of the latest West Asia war.

We sought views of the US on President Dissanayake’s claim against the backdrop of Sri Lanka being a party to the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) since 2007. Sri Lanka extended the ACSA in 2017, for another 10-year period, and its extension comes up next year.

The President revealed that the US had requested permission to use Mattala, between 04 and 08 March.

Claiming that the request had been made on 26 February, two days before the war began, President Dissanayake said that the US had sought to land two aircraft, carrying eight anti-ship missiles, but that the request had been turned down to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality. The President revealed that the aircraft were to come from a US base in Djibouti.

The US embassy pokesperson explained that questions related to operational movements, including ‘Operation Epic Fury’, should be directed to the Department of War (DOW) in Washington.

Camp Lemonnier is the primary base of operations for US Africa Command in the Horn of Africa. China, too, has its only overseas military base in Djibouti in the vicinity.

Military sources said whatever various interested parties said about US-Sri Lanka relations, the former provided significant intelligence support during last phase of the conflict that enabled the Navy to hunt down floating LTTE arsenals in international waters. Of the eight LTTE vessels sunk, the US backed four hits with specific intelligence, sources said.

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No decrease in remittances from workers due to Gulf conflict, but significant drop in tourist arrivals – CB Governor

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4 hours ago

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2026/03/26

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CBSL Governor

Sri Lanka’s worker remittances had not seen a decrease despite the ongoing conflict in West Asia, Central Bank (CBSL) Governor, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said yesterday.

“Based on currently available data, they have not seen a decline in remittances. In fact, according to that we have observed, is a slight increase in remittances in the past few days, ” the Governor said at a media conference held at the Central Bank head office in Colombo.

Governor Weerasinghe also mentioned that he had not seen any reports about Sri Lankans returning to the country from the Middle East due to the ongoing conflict.

The Central Bank Governor, however, acknowledged that there had been a decrease in tourist arrivals. He confirmed that tourist arrivals had decreased by around 17 percent due to the current volatile situation in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has decided to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at the current level of 7.75%, following its latest Monetary Policy Board meeting.

By Hiran H Senewiratne

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