Catastrophe in Sri Lanka: Over 5% of the entire population is displaced

 

The tsunami on 26^th Dec has so far killed over 13,000 people [1] and rendered over a million people [1] homeless. This accounts for just over 5% of the total population of the country. However, the fatalities could be substantially higher than quoted, given that entire families have been swept away in to the ocean in some areas, and that trains and buses full of commuters are still being dredged out of the carnage.

 

There are already many voluntary and government agencies actively involved in relief work. However, the sheer immensity of the catastrophe and the difficulty of getting aid especially to the remote areas in the eastern and south-eastern coasts of Sri Lanka have made even the primary emergency relief work a monumental task.

 

Just as critical would be to ensure adequate water supply and sanitary facilities to the vast population that is displaced and made homeless. With the intermittent rain and high possibility of water contamination, there is the real possibility of many more fatalities due to water-spread epidemics, such as cholera. This is further compounded by the destruction of the transportation and utilities infrastructure in the coastal regions.

 

 

Appeal for Emergency Relief Funds

 

The initial estimates of the cost of emergency support and basic relief operations as well as the subsequent rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the country will be running into millions of pounds. [1]

 

Emergency funds are urgently needed to procure basic necessities, essential drug supplies to treat the victims, as well as to prevent otherwise-certain outbreaks of water-spread epidemics.

 

 

Appeal for Urgent Supplies and Medical Volunteers

 

The relief organizations desperately appeal for the urgent emergency supplies, as well as volunteer medical professionals to help on the ground.

 

The following supplies are considered to be of high priority:

 

• Tents, water-proof sheets for accommodating the displaced people.
• Blankets and linen
• Water purification tablets (approximately 2 million)
• Emergency drugs: basic painkillers (Paracetamol etc), antibiotics, dressing and suture material, oral re-hydration salts (ORS), diarrhoea and other water-spread disease control drugs
• Disposable syringes and intravenous infusion (saline and dextrose)
• Baby feeding equipment (bottles, teats, sterilisation tablets)
• Portable electricity generators

 

The accident & emergency units have also appealed the support of foreign medical teams to volunteer their help. As well as the physical injuries sustained during the flooding, there is widespread need for trauma-counselling, with certain families having lost some or all of the parents, children or siblings.

 

The detailed information on the logistical support for accommodating and dispatching such medical teams are being emanated.

 

 

Sri Lanka: Geography and Statistics

 

Sri Lanka is a pear-shaped island of total area 65,610 sq km, situated 29 km to the southern tip of India.

 

Total population (2003):	19.06 million
GNI per capita (2003):	USD 930
Life expectancy at birth (2003):	73 yrs
Adult literacy rate (2000):	92%

Source: UNICEF [2]

 

 

Transportation:

 

The country has a substantial network of roads and railroads, both of which are government-managed. Sri Lankan railroads span 1,944 km of track, which extend radially from Colombo to northern, eastern and southern coastal cities. Service to northern and eastern areas erratic because of domestic unrest.[3]

 

Road network is approximately 75,000 km, out of about 25,000 km are paved.[3] The network interconnects all major cities and a substantial portion of rural areas of the country.

 

In addition, there are about 430 km of rivers and canals navigable by shallow draft vessels. [3]

 

 

International Transport:

 

Country.s airport at Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport is the primary link to the country. In addition, there are several other airfields, which are mainly used by the Air Force and other domestic transport operations.

There are three deep water ports at Colombo, Trincomalee, and Galle, although the latter two underutilized; government Shipping Corporation possessed eight freighters and two tankers in late 1980s. [3]

 

Health and Welfare:

 

The government provides a nationwide healthcare system, including maternity services, but there is an overall lack of equipment and supplies as well as overtaxing on facilities and personnel.

 

The medical infrastructure consists of more than 3,000 Western-trained physicians, over 8,600 nurses, about 340 central dispensaries, and 490 hospitals of all types. [3]

 

 

Sri Lanka has eradicated Smallpox, and the incidence of malaria is declining. The death rate has declined from 6.6 to 6.1 per 1,000 in decade from mid-1970s to mid-1980s, and the infant mortality declined from 50 to 34 deaths per 1,000 over the same decade. [3]

 

In addition, the traditional indigenous medicine (ayurveda), supported by government, enjoys great credibility among the general populous. [3]

 

 

References:

 

[1] BBC World News

 

[2] UNICEF

 

[3] US Library of Congress http://lcweb2.loc.gov/, 1998