Hospitals are running out of medicines. Staff members are leaving. And some parents will even leave a newborn stranded in the intensive care unit if they can't afford the fees for additional care.
Sri Lankan authorities closed schools and asked public officials not to come to work in a desperate move to prepare for an acute fuel shortage during the nation's worst economic crisis in decades.
Despite a reputation for being suspicious of government and outsiders, some rural residents now say state funds are needed to help fix the big economic and drug problems faced by small towns.
