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…
Pandemic
We want the Power of Equality, Justice and Love. Not Love for Power.
In late April, women from movements and collectives in the North and East marched into GotaGoGama in Galle Face to voice their concerns and issues in solidarity with the struggle in the…
Rescuing the Poor from the Economic Abyss
At a small grocery store, an elderly man pointed at a particular packet of biscuits and asked what the price was – it was Rs.70. The man asked if there were biscuits…
Our Planet, Our Health
Today is World Health Day World Health Day, a global health awareness day, was declared to mark the anniversary of the founding of World Health Organisation (WHO) on April 7, 1948. World…
Building Resilience in Stressful Times
These are difficult times for many of us in Sri Lanka. After two years of a pandemic that disrupted nearly every aspect of daily living, we are now going through a serious…
Russia-Ukraine Crisis: How Should South Asian Economies Respond?
It is almost three weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, the second-largest country in Europe by geographical area after Russia. Early expectations of a quick and decisive Russian military victory have not materialised…
Does the Apparel Industry Supply Garments Without Guilt?
Sri Lanka’s apparel workers, mostly female, provide an important contribution to the country’s economy. In 2019, apparel exports amounted to $5.2 billion, almost 40% of all exports. The industry provides direct employment…
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.…
Tackling Access to Education During Covid-19
Sri Lanka can be justly proud of its educated population and high literacy rate due to decades of free education up to university level. Universal access to primary education has been achieved…
How to Handle the Omicron Variant
The latest Omicron variant is currently a global concern. Emergence of new variants is partly due to the global vaccine inequity which has allowed the virus to infect many unvaccinated populations and…
COVID-19 and Structural Inequalities Impede AIDS Battle
World AIDS Day is an annual event commemorated worldwide since 1988 on December 1. It is an opportunity to refocus and reinforce the global efforts to prevent new HIV infections, increase HIV…
Gotabaya Rajapaksa: A Two Year Timeline
To coincide with the end of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s second year in office, the Centre for Policy Alternatives produced a video timeline detailing some of the defining moments of the President’s past…
COVID Lockdowns: A Look at the Lower Income Tiers
My daily commute to Colombo has been on hold for quite some time since my office adopted work from home as part of our work routine. If it is anything that I…
The Impact of COVID-19 on Access to Credit for SMEs
Image courtesy of Centre for Poverty Analysis Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the Sri Lankan economy. The sector accounts for nearly 80% of all businesses and contributes to…
Coping with Regional Disparities in Services During a Pandemic
The access to and distribution of public services have a history of uneven and unequal distribution across geographies due to scarce resources, contextual factors and competing interests. This disparity is most visible…
