The Gambia is stepping up its health measures, including better quality control of imported medicines after the mysterious death of dozens of children. Gambian President Adama Barrow addressed the nation about the incident on Friday.
“Fellow Gambians, residents of The Gambia, I assure you all that the government will leave no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of this incident,” Barrow said.
“The Ministry of Health investigates the origin of contaminated drugs, the circumstances and procedures for the importation of drugs into the country and establishes safeguards to eliminate the importation of low-quality drugs,” he added.
The Gambia has launched an urgent door-to-door campaign to phase out cough and cold syrups blamed for the deaths of 66 children from kidney failure in the past three months.
President Barrow said the outbreak is now under control, with only two cases reported in the last two weeks.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization issued an alert on four cough and cold syrups made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals in India for possible links to the deaths. The UN health agency said it is conducting investigations with the company and regulatory authorities in India.
