The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified four substandard pharmaceutical items in The Gambia.
The four products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup, and Magrip N Cold Syrup.
According to the FDA, laboratory analysis of the items indicates that they contain inadequate levels of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants.
When diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are consumed, they are poisonous to humans and can be fatal.
Toxic consequences can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, changed mental state, and acute kidney injury, which can result in death.
The manufacturer of these drugs has been identified as Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited, which is situated in Haryana, India.
According to the statement, as of October 5, the producers, Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited, had still not supplied the WHO with a safety and quality guarantee for these goods.
The FDA concur with WHO’s caution on four substandard paediatric drugs discovered in The Gambia.
“The FDA would like to inform you that these items have not been registered by the Authority and are not expected on the Ghanaian market,” the Authority said in a statement on October 6, 2022.
The Authority has also asked all healthcare professionals to submit suspected counterfeit medicinal items to the FDA via the website http://adr.fdaghana.gov.gh or by calling 024431 0297.
Meanwhile, the FDA has increased its post-market monitoring actions at the country’s borders and throughout the country in order to detect and remove any unregistered products on the Ghanaian market.
