Establishment of health services for internally displaced persons in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The end of the thirty year long complex emergency in the North and East of Sri Lanka signified the internal displacement of large number of civilians in 2009. Most of these Internally Displaced Persons were temporarily settled in the Welfare Villages in Menic Farm, Cheddikulam, in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka. Provision of healthcare for the Internally Displaced Persons was a challenge which was undertaken by the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition with the participation of many stakeholders. The general objective of the study was to describe the establishment of healthcare services for the Internally Displaced Persons in Menic Farm, Sri Lanka in 2009. The specific objectives of the study were to describe the evolution and prioritization of health issues of the Internally Displaced Persons in Menic Farm, to describe the organizational and administrative framework and coordination mechanism for the provision of healthcare, to describe the organization of curative and preventive health services, to discuss the strengths, weaknesses and challenges faced during the above measures and to make recommendations to improve the provision of healthcare for Internally Displaced Persons in future. This case study was conducted in the Menic Farm Internally Displaced Persons Welfare Villages in Cheddikulam, Vavuniya District, Sri Lanka, from May to December in 2009. Curative, preventive, promotive and rehabilitative health services which included provision of emergency health care, routine outpatient and inpatient care, psychosocial support, nutritional rehabilitation, control of communicable and non-communicable diseases were established by the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition with the collaboration of other government, non- governmental and intergovernmental organizations. Given the complexity of the emergency and the limited resources of a developing country like Sri Lanka, the establishment of health services for the Internally Displaced Persons was exemplary. Recommendations were made to strengthen organization and coordination of health services in complex emergency situations.