“Accessibility of healthcare is a problem,” said Dr. Mahesh Gunasekara, director-general of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society. Read more: How Sri Lanka went from topping Lonely Planet’s list to almost 30% hunger levelsIn May 2022, amid plunging foreign currency reserves, Sri Lanka defaulted on its international debt for the first time. But the quality of Indian drugs is under the microscope after complications arose in a number of Sri Lankan patients. “There’s a huge brain drain at the moment… from Sri Lanka to other developed countries,” Fernando said. According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 1.1 million people left Sri Lanka in 2022 – nurses, doctors, lab technicians, and pharmacists among them.