Protest in Gambia against India's cough syrup, WHO issued alert after the death of 66 children
WHO said that these four medicines are cough syrups produced in India. However, the WHO issued a statement making it clear that the contaminated products have so far only been detected in The Gambia, so they can be distributed to other countries.
Staff Editor 
A door-to-door campaign has been launched in the small West African country of The Gambia to immediately take back the cough syrup that has been blamed for the deaths of more than 60 children due to kidney damage. Speaking to The Associated Press (AP), health director Dr. Mustafa Bittey confirmed that the children died due to fatal kidney injury, which is grieving for 2.4 million people across the world, including the country.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning regarding these deaths. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement issued on Wednesday, "WHO has issued an alert for four contaminated drugs identified in The Gambia, which are expected to cause the death of 66 children from serious kidney damage." WHO said that these four medicines are cough syrups produced in India. However, the WHO issued a statement making it clear that the contaminated products have so far only been detected in The Gambia, so they can be distributed to other countries.
The Medical Research Council of The Gambia also issued a warning
WHO is investigating with the company and regulatory authorities in India. The Gambia's Council of Medical Research has also issued a warning. The council issued a statement saying, "Last week we had admitted a girl child with a kidney wound, but she died. We are able to confirm that he had taken one of those drugs before being admitted to the hospital, which is likely to be the case. This drug was bought in The Gambia. The council said that the identified drugs have been found to contain toxic substances in sufficient quantities to cause irreparable damage to the kidneys. The Government of India and the Government of Haryana are jointly investigating about the contaminated medicine.
A health official, who did not wish to be named, said that out of 23 samples tested so far, four have been found to be contaminated and the Indian government is awaiting the report. The headquarters of the drug maker, Madden Pharmaceutical Limited, did not get reverted when called. The Indian health ministry and the federal regulator also did not respond to AP's questions.
