By Abdoulie John, BANJUL Gambia
Gambian lawmakers on Wednesday urged compensation for the families of 70 children who authorities believe may have died after taking a contaminated cough syrup imported from India.
Gambia Parliament (Courtesy) |
The special legislative
session was held several weeks after the World Health Organization issued an
alarm about 66 deaths from acute kidney injury. Gambian authorities launched an
urgent door-to-door campaign to confiscate any remaining bottles of the syrup.
The toll has still risen by four more deaths.
Wednesday’s meeting also drew
grieving family members including Mariama Sysawo, who said her 5-month-old
daughter, Isatou, died in late August after taking one of the cough syrups.
“My mind is still stuck on the
last moments I had with my child,” she told The Associated Press. “After
experiencing problems urinating, my baby had to face unbearable pains. Justice
must be served even it means inflicting huge penalties to the Indian company.”
The WHO’s medical product
alert said four cough and cold syrups produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals
Limited in India “have been potentially linked to acute kidney injuries” in
children. The U.N. health agency has said that it is pursuing investigations with
the company and regulatory authorities in India.
“If we find out that the
deaths are tied to the contaminated drugs, Gambia must sue,” said Modou Lamin
B. Bah, vice chair of the Select Committee on Health.
Phone calls to the
headquarters of Maiden Pharmaceuticals went unanswered after the product recall
was announced by the WHO.
Assembly Minority Leader
Alhagie S. Darbo said the government’s investigation should also cover “the
culpability of the suspected importers and pharmacies linked to contaminated drugs.”
Lawmakers later adopted a
motion saying that the government enquiry should further review the laws and
regulations governing drug importation and licensing. Compensation for the
families also remained at the forefront of Wednesday’s session.
Health Minister Dr. Ahmadou
Lamin Samateh told lawmakers that the drug importer linked to the medicines
flagged by the the WHO already has been suspended.
More than 42,000 cough syrup
bottles have been collected out of the 50,000 that initially were imported to
Gambia by the company, he added. - AP
No comments:
Post a Comment