Category: Opinion
Towards Zero Poverty: Why Effective Targeting of Samurdhi Transfers is Essential
By Lakshila Wanigasinghe The first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere” by 2030. While achieving the goal of zero poverty is a lofty goal for any government, it is profoundly more so for those of developing countries. The high levels of inequalities and resource constraints are the main […]
Trees of life: Why worry about deforestation?
By Manadilani Daluwatte – Trustee, Federation of Environmental Organisations, Sri Lanka (FEO) “The death of the forest is the end of our life.” Dorothy Stang Why are forests important? This is a question that we must all focus on now, before it is too late, as much of Sri Lanka’s forests are being destroyed before […]
Tribute to Dr. Neville Fernando
By Eran Wickramaratne: Dr. Neville Fernando’s death a few days ago ended the colourful life of a doctor, politician, entrepreneur in the Printing Technology and visionary. I may not have agreed with some positions taken by Dr. Fernando in politics but I am an admirer of his courage and vision in pursuing what he thought […]
Sri Lanka’s Post-COVID-19 Recovery: The Need for Inclusive Economic Growth
By Wimal Nanayakkara: High levels of inequality impede sustainable growth and development of a country. Sri Lanka made impressive strides to reach an upper middle-income country (UMIC) status in July 2019, only to slip back a year later. The COVID-19 crisis, amid growing inequities, is likely to make the task of regaining UMIC status even […]
Test, Trace, Treat – Putting Sri Lanka’s Pandemic Management Mantra into Practice
Sri Lanka’s extensive network of public healthcare workers has been the underlying force behind the country’s pandemic response. This series of articles, beginning with the Puttalam District, aims to capture the ground realities of pandemic management, from the perspectives of public health workers around the country. Highlights: Sri Lanka’ test, trace, treat pandemic management strategy […]
Opinion: Three key priorities for Engineering & Construction companies beyond COVID
By PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Sri Lanka: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the engineering and construction industry is unprecedented. Based on our discussions with clients, construction projects are expected to be delayed or cancelled. Global, as well as local supply chains, are under pressure whilst the health and safety of employees is a concern. Most […]
Opinion: How Life Insurance can succeed in the post-COVID economy
By Chula Hettiarachchi: The unprecedented global climate of today has taken a heavy toll on life. At no point in time, did we anticipate that a single health pandemic would so significantly shift our focus as a society and leave us assessing where we all fit in this “New Normal”. Now more than ever, individuals […]
‘s Institute of Medical Sciences bringing medical careers and care to the Northern Province
By Jekhan Aruliah During the 2020 COVID-19 “Corona” Virus pandemic we really loved our health workers. We all loved them because COVID-19 hit everyone. Not through infection but through curfews. Businesses closing, shopping & socializing banned, incomes lost, economic hardship, and the stress of being locked in with our loved ones. Diseases are usually suffered […]
‘s future direction for raising debt in international markets
By Shamika Ramanayake: National debt and fiscal stability are two stretch-words often reverberating over during these pandemic/crisis times. As governments all around the world are pushing their boundaries to salvage national economies and avoid damaging spillover effects, especially on vulnerable sections such as small & medium business holders, entrepreneurs, labour markets, etc., such measures are […]
‘s battle against malnutrition amidst COVID
Priyanka Jayawardena Although, Sri Lanka performs well in most health indicators, child nutrition remains a major issue. According to the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 2016, in Sri Lanka, more than 20% of children under five years are underweight. Unsurprisingly, malnutrition is especially prevalent among poor households. Successive governments have implemented several programmes to improve […]
Opinion: A new deal for Sri Lanka
By Mangala Samaraweera: The worst economic crisis since Independence is upon us. For some decades now the grim clouds of debt, waste and corruption have been gathering over our island. Now – as this fearsome storm of the Corona virus unleashes its fury – anguish and desperation, grief and sorrow, fear and rage, will engulf […]
COVID-19: out of chaos comes opportunity. But opportunity must be seized to become reality.
By Jekhan Aruliah Tinned fish to tin houses: in the weeks of the 2020 Corona curfews we frequently saw on television and on Facebook fish in metal tins donated to families in metal huts. The Covid-19 Crisis shone a stark light on the large segment of our population in Sri Lanka living in chronic dire […]