A Gambian body attributes 70 child deaths to an Indian company

admin Published December 21, 2022

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A photograph taken on December 14, 2022 shows a general view of the Middle Eastern specialist bookshop, Al Saqi Books, in Bayswater, west London, on December 14, 2022. - The Al Saqi bookshop, which opened in 1978, has not survived the pandemic, the Brexit and the political and economic chaos in Lebanon, from where the couple's publishing house prints and ships most of its books. So in a few days, the London bookshop, known to literary enthusiasts throughout the Middle East, will be closed. (Photo by Isabel INFANTES / AFP)

DAKAR: On Tuesday, a parliamentary committee in Gambia said that Indian pharmaceutical company Maiden Pharmaceuticals was to blame for at least 70 children’s deaths from acute kidney injury and urged the government to take legal action.

The deaths, which have shocked the West African nation since July, were likely caused by four medicinal syrups made by Maiden and imported by a local wholesaler, according to the World Health Organization in October. The drugs were taken off the shelves, and Maiden’s Indian production license was revoked.

As per the WHO, lab examination affirmed “unsuitable” measures of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol in the meds made by Lady.

Gambia’s select committee on health arrived at a similar conclusion following its investigation. In a statement to parliament, the committee’s chairperson, Amadou Camara, stated, “The consumption of contaminated medical products… manufactured by Maiden Pharmaceuticals is linked to the consumption of all the cases of AKI.”