Sri Lanka's economic collapse is forcing people all over the country to find unconventional ways to survive. The unique unravelling of a once-middle-income nation has dramatically reshaped how people on the ground are living.
During a brutal shift last year, Sri Lankan doctor Saman Kumara did something he'd never done before — he recorded a desperate voice message asking for help to keep newborn babies alive.
One of Dr Kumara's staff members told him his government hospital was running out of endotracheal tubes, a specialised item for infants. Without these crucial devices, newborn babies with breathing difficulties would die."We had a difficult time during the COVID era, but we could pull through and manage. I never expected or experienced this in my life."
This is how Dr Kumara and the rest of his hospital now get critical supplies, as Sri Lanka's economic crisis diminishes medical stocks and other basic goods.