Piyumi Kanchana Fonseka Gunaratne
Freelance Journalist
Piyumi Kanchana Fonseka Gunaratne is a journalist based in Colombo, with a decade-long experience covering local and regional issues. Formerly the Deputy Editor for Investigations at Sri Lanka’s leading English daily, the Daily Mirror, she is also the recipient of the Young Reporter of the Year (2015) and Investigative Journalist of the Year (2021) awards at the Sri Lankan Journalism Awards for Excellence. Piyumi is also an alumna of the World Press Institute in Minnesota, USA.
February 19, 2024
Once considered one of the best in the region, Sri Lanka's healthcare system is ailing, laid low by the exodus of hundreds of doctors and, with patients left languishing, experts are calling on the government to act to stop the loss of talent.
More than 1,700 medical officers - an umbrella term for doctors and other healthcare professionals - have left Sri Lanka over the past two years, according to the Government Medical Officers' Association trade union, which shared data exclusively with Context.
February 08, 2023
When Kiri Banda retired from his job as a cook in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, he hoped for a peaceful old age living with his son. But with his medical bills straining household finances last year, he decided it was time to move out.
"I didn't want to be a burden," said Banda, who spends his days begging or searching for food and sleeps on a bench in a public park.