Health authorities say less than five percent of the combined quota of drugs and dressings meant for last two quarter have been sent to Vanni

In a letter to the Secretary of Health Ministry, Regional Directors of Health Services of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi say that the region was not provided with much needed medicine for the last four months.

"Thousands of civilian deaths could have gone unrecorded as they were not brought to hospitals," the letter signed by Dr. T Varatharaja and Dr. T Satyamoorthy said.

Government response

The bulk of the medicine supplies that arrived in Vavuniya, it said, is "awaiting security clearance from the ministry of defence".

"In fact, less than five percent of the combined quota of drugs and dressings that are meant for the last quarter of last year and for the first quarter of this year have been sent to us, so far," the doctors informed health authorities.

Over 4000 people have been evacuated by the ICRC since February this year

However, the government says that enough supplies have been sent to Vanni through ICRC ships that transport wounded and send food and medicine to Vanni.

Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara told BBC Sandeshaya that the two doctors in Vanni should take measures to send wounded to government controlled areas.

"Even yesterday 480 patients were brought by the ICRC," he said.

ICRC spokeswoman in Colombo, Sophie Romanens told BBC Sandeshaya that the MoD gave security clearance to transport medicine on three occasions since February this year.

“But it was not sufficient for the increasing need,” she added.

The WFP has sent 500 metric tonnes of food items to Vanni with the help of the ICRC

The ICRC has evacuated over 4000 people from Vanni since 10 February and nearly two thirds of those evacuated are sick and wounded, Sophie Romanens said.

Food arrives

The World Food Programme (WFP), meanwhile, said that 500 metric tonnes of mixed food commodities reached Puthumathalan on Tuesday.

The food items sent mainly included rice, wheat flour, lentils, sugar and vegetable oil, a statement issued by the WFP said.

There was no mention of medicine.

"The food sent to the area will be sufficient to feed approximately 100,000 Internally Displaced Persons for a period of 10 days," it added.

The two health officials in Vanni have urged the authorities to immediately send medicine to the region.

"Any further delay in sending essential medicines would only cause more and more deaths of innocent civilians," they warned.