Sri Lanka’s children suffer amid climate change-fuelled floods and disease
Turbocharged monsoon floods are intensifying the spread of waterborne diseases in the Indian Ocean island nation
For a week, seven-year-old Nathushika suffered from diarrhoea, vomiting, and a high fever. Her mother, Easwary, was baffled by her daughter’s sudden illness, as no one else in the household was sick and Nathushika had not eaten any outside food.
At the time, Easwary did not realise that her daughter, like many others in their flood-stricken community, had unknowingly been exposed to a waterborne disease.
Scientists say climate change is driving these increasingly severe storms and erratic monsoons, turning once-predictable weather patterns into disasters that spread waterborne diseases.
When floodwaters rise, diseases follow, viruses and other pathogens spread through contaminated water and food, said Dr Thilanga Ruwanpathirana, a consultant epidemiologist at the Ministry of Health.
Children are [the most vulnerable] group, because they are also playing in floodwater
Pregnant women, the elderly, those with chronic diseases, and children are at the greatest risk during such outbreaks, he added.