Sri Lanka's health minister survives parliamentary trust vote amid allegations of importation of ‘substandard’ medicines

Sri Lanka's health minister Keheliya Rambukwella on Friday survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote against him over alleged irresponsible importation of ‘substandard’ medicines and surgical equipment, which led to a weakened health sector and even deaths in the cash-strapped country.

Health Minister Rambukwella survived the no-confidence motion moved by the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) party, with 113 parliamentarians supporting him in the 225-member House, against the Opposition’s 73.

In recent months, Rambukwella has been reeling under pressure over the dire state of the country's healthcare system, hit by the ongoing economic crisis. Hospitals in the cash-strapped country have been plagued by a lack of equipment and essential drugs.

Sri Lanka was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves.

The motion was moved over the alleged irresponsible importation of substandard medicines and surgical equipment, which weakened the health sector and caused the deaths of several patients receiving treatment at state hospitals, news portal adaderana.lk reported.

The main opposition alleged that the government continued to bring in the relevant ‘substandard’ drugs outside of the procurement and registration process, considering it a state of emergency and that the move resulted in several deaths at major hospitals across the country, the report said.

It moved the three-day motion highlighting alleged corruption in the procurements due to emergency buying.

Several deaths were reported in rural hospitals, which the Opposition claimed was due to the administration of expired injections.

The Opposition demanded his resignation for the bungling, while Rambukwella accused them of trying to make political capital out of admitted shortcomings in the system.

Sri Lanka announced its first-ever sovereign default in April 2022 and faced its worst economic crisis in history due to a shortage of foreign exchange reserves.

The economic crisis sparked widespread protests that led to the ouster of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

In March, the International Monetary Fund extended a nearly USD 3 billion bailout facility to debt-ridden Sri Lanka to help stabilise the country's economy.