A national emergency should be declared by the government with the increasing number of deaths due to drug-related complications, President of the Government Medical Officers' Forum (GMOF) Dr. Rukshan Bellana said.

"There is a doubt that substandard medicines have been imported through the Indian Credit Line," he said. Dr. Bellana said that the Cabinet of Ministers must convene and discuss how to address this issue, he opined.

"Together with other professional bodies in the health sector, the GMOF intends to hand over a letter to the Indian government, through the Indian High Commission in Colombo," Dr. Bellana said.

The senior medical administrator charged that the credit line, which has to be repaid with public funds, has gone to waste. "This is a crime. Some officers have determined that the Indian Credit line can be prostituted. Their wish is to import substandard drugs, while living their own luxurious lives," he charged.

Dr. Bellana likened the health situation in Sri Lanka to terrorist attacks by the LTTE during the civil war. "This is an emergency. It's like bombs have been planted across the island, which can blast at any minute," he said. He charged that the government is treating the situation as a trivial matter, where they wish to offer monetary compensation for the loss of lives. (Kalani Kumarasinghe)