The WHO constitution states:”Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
As WHO looks into the deaths of almost 100 children this year, Indonesia bans the sale of syrup medications completely, warning that the liquids may include substances linked to fatal kidney ailments.
The action was taken just a few weeks after the World Health Organization issued a warning about four cough syrups made in India, alleging a possible connection between those products and the deaths of 70 children in the Gambia and acute renal damage.
Although it has stated that the actual number of cases may be greater, Indonesia has stated that it is looking into 206 cases of acute kidney injury (AKI), the majority of which are in children under the age of five, and 99 fatalities.
The nation’s health minister announced on Thursday that two chemicals connected to AKI had been found in items found in the homes of some of the patients.
“Some syrups that were used by AKI child patients under five [years old] were proven to contain ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol that were not supposed to be there, or of very little amount,” said Budi Gunadi Sadikin, according to Reuters. He did not specify how many.
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Ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol were discovered in the samples of the hazardous products under investigation in the Gambia by the WHO in “unacceptable amounts.”
Although the infected products had only been found in the Gambia up to this point, the WHO stated last month that “they may have been distributed to other countries.”
The WHO added that all nations should locate and “remove these goods from circulation to prevent additional harm to people.”
The four cough and cold syrups in question in the Gambia, thought to have been produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals, an Indian company, were not, according to Indonesia’s food and drug administration, readily available there.
The health ministry has not specified which syrup brands it is looking into, instead imposing a general ban.It has said the ban will continue until authorities have completed their inquiries into unregistered medical syrups suspected of containing ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol.
“I assure you all that the government will leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of this incident,” he said in a statement earlier this month.
A spokeswoman for the health ministry claimed this week that there had been a “sharp rise” since late August, despite the fact that Indonesia has seen an increase in AKI cases since January.
The president of the Gambia, Adama Barrow, has ordered the construction of “a quality control national laboratory for drugs and food safety” and promised a tightening of laws to ensure effective drug regulation in response to the country’s debate over drug regulation sparked by the deaths of 70 children.
In a statement earlier this month, he pledged, “I assure you all that the administration will leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of this occurrence.
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