Sri Lanka's dengue fever outbreak has reached epidemic proportions, infecting tens of thousands and exposing the collapse of the country's public health system. This crisis, primarily driven by the DENV-2 strain, has overwhelmed hospitals and exposed the devastating impact of decades of austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The situation is particularly dire, with daily hospital admissions spiking from around 750 to between 950 and 1,000 as of July 7. This surge has led to a dire shortage of nurses and hospital staff, with existing personnel forced to work 24-hour shifts. The situation is so dire that nurses from other wards are being assigned to dengue units, exacerbating the shortage and demoralizing staff.
The official figures drastically underestimate the true scale of the disaster. Public Health Inspector Sandun Rathnayake estimates that the real number of infections may be close to 200,000, considering that 75 to 80 percent of infected individuals are asymptomatic but still capable of transmitting the disease.
This epidemic is a social crime produced by the systematic destruction of Sri Lanka's public health system and the decades-long assault on the universal right to free health care. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna/National People's Power (JVP/NPP) government, despite promising to 'renegotiate' the terms of the country's IMF bailout, has become the most ruthless enforcer of austerity. The 2026 budget cut health spending to 554 billion rupees, down from 604 billion in 2025, while committing to a primary budget surplus and annual debt repayments of 5 billion dollars.
The capitalist ruling class is placing the profit interests of big business above human lives. While billions of rupees are handed to major corporations, funding for health care and other essential services continues to be cut. The trade unions that claim to represent health workers support the IMF program, suppress workers' struggles, and oppose any independent mobilization against the JVP/NPP government.
The Socialist Equality Party calls on workers to establish independent action committees to fight for the resources needed to rebuild public health. This means a political struggle to place the major banks, corporations, and private hospitals under democratic workers' control, reject foreign debt repayments, and establish a workers' and peasants' government based on socialist policies.
