In a newspaper advertisement, the service has sought support from corporates and individuals
MEERA SRINIVASAN
COLOMBO: “Will you adopt a 1990 Suwaseriya ambulance and help save lives?” — bold letters screamed in a half-page advertisement in Tuesday’s [March 28, 2023] edition of Sri Lanka’s top business daily.
The urgent appeal for finances to keep Sri Lanka’s first pre-hospital emergency ambulance service afloat comes amid the government’s efforts to revive its battered economy from last year’s devastating financial crash. On March 20, the government secured a nearly $3 billion package from the International Monetary Fund that is to be disbursed over four years.
The ‘1990’ ambulance service was first launched first in 2016 with 88 ambulances in Sri Lanka’s Western and Southern Provinces, with an Indian grant of $ 7.56 million. Within a couple of years, the service expanded island wide with an additional Indian grant of $15.09 million.The Hindu
