A global alert has been issued over four cough syrups after the World Health Organization (WHO) warned they could be linked to the deaths of 66 children in The Gambia. This intervention comes after medical authorities in The Gambia detected an increase in cases of acute kidney injury among children under the age of five in late July 2022. The children were unable to pass urine after being given the syrups.

The products — Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup — were manufactured by an Indian company, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, which had failed to provide guarantees about their safety, the WHO said.

The Gambian police have started investigations into the deaths as Gambians are voicing their dissatisfaction with their health system and questioning whether these child deaths are being taken seriously.

There are growing calls for the resignation of Health Minister Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, along with the prosecution of the importers of the drugs into the country.

"This is a lesson for parents, but the greater responsibility is with the government. Before any drugs get into the country, they should be properly checked if they are fit for human consumption or not," Mariam Sisawo, whose daughter passed away, told the BBC.

"If there was equipment and the right medicine, then my son and many other children could have been saved," said Alieu Kijera, a father who lost his two-year-old son.Some of the parents who lost their children are considering taking legal action of their own against the authorities.

In an alert published on its website, WHO warned that the four products had been identified in The Gambia, but "may have been distributed, through informal markets, to other countries or regions".