Building Back Better After the Pandemic
This year World Health Day focuses on the theme of “Health for All” – a theme that is strongly connected to health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, as we barely…
Author: Shashika Bandara
An Ode to Kindness: Celebrating Edwin Ariyadasa in Four Memories
Edwin Ariyadasa, born on December 3, 1922, would have turned 100 this past weekend. While he was a giant and a pioneer in journalism in Sri Lanka, this reflection is not about…
Strengthening the Health System to Face Emerging Threats
Sri Lanka faced significant health threats due to the pandemic and is attempting to regain a sense of normalcy, along with the rest of the world. The country’s challenges have been made…
The Definition of Fully Vaccinated is Shifting – We Must Keep Up to be Safe
We are in the third year of the pandemic and the end is indefinite. What we know in terms of methods to overcome this pandemic has remained the same since mid-last year….
COVID-19: Facing the Shifting Policy Priorities
Sri Lanka is emerging from another wave of COVID-19 and there is a sense of uncertainty that surrounds us. While Sri Lanka’s notable success of vaccinating its population at record speed with…
COVID-19 Resurgence: Let’s Not Lose Hope but Let’s Not Tolerate Inadequate Solutions
Sri Lanka is facing a resurgence of COVID-19 due to the Delta variant that mirrors the devastating surge in India in April. In the last 24 hours government sources have reported 3,435…
COVID-19 Public Health Measures Are Essential Even with Vaccinations
On July 19, 2021, at a World Health Organization (WHO) press conference, COVID-19 Technical Lead Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove’s son asked a question that has been on all our minds “when will…
Sri Lanka is Alarmingly Overdue for a Long Term Strategy for COVID-19
At the beginning of the pandemic, given the unexpected nature of the outbreak and lack of scientific understanding, many countries including Sri Lanka opted for temporary, ad-hoc public measures that included temporary…
COVID-19: Three Immediate Policy Priorities to Save Lives
Sri Lanka is facing an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases with the number of daily cases over 3,000, a weekly increase of over 50 percent from last week Friday, May 14. Government…
Your Mask is a Powerful Tool With or Without the Vaccine
On April 30 Sri Lanka recorded the highest number of cases in a day at 1,662 cases – and a seven-day average of 1,208 cases. With the vaccine supply low due to…
Where is Kindness in Our COVID-19 Health Policy?
Towards end of March, about two months into the pandemic, a TV program discussed the challenges of the pandemic response with politicians. A disturbing theme that was too prominent to ignore was…
A Brief Guide to COVID-19 Vaccines and Life After Vaccination
Sri Lanka, although facing challenges related to vaccination coordination, has started vaccinating the public. As misinformation can be a serious challenge to understanding the vaccine landscape during this crucial time, here is…
Misguided Policies Damage A Valued Public Health System
Sri Lanka hit the lowest point in their COVID-19 response when a 20-day-old Muslim infant was cremated on December 9, 2020 against the wishes of his parents and against their religious faith. Islamic faith…
Understanding Pandemic Fatigue
Sri Lanka is seeing an uptick in infections with 1,307 total infections with 1,180 new infections confirmed within seven days, as of October 10. Amidst this increase an unhealthy narrative is starting…
Human Rights and Democracy: Lessons from COVID-19
The pandemic is not the great equalizer that many claims it to be. In fact, COVID-19 has exacerbated social, economic and class divisions affecting the vulnerable communities the most. It has widened…