Families of children who died after taking cough syrups in Gambia reject $20,000 compensation from government

 

The Families of 70 Gambian children who died of acute kidney injury (AKI), allegedly linked to consuming Indian made cough syrups, have rejected monetary compensation offered to them by the Government of Gambia.
 In October 2022, the World Health Organization announced a global alert over four brands of cough syrups, saying they could be linked to acute kidney damage.
This followed reports linking the drugs to acute kidney problems in children in the Gambia of children. The Gambian Ministry of Gender have offered the families $20,000 to be shared among them but the families rejected the offer.According to a BBC report on Monday,  November 7, the chairperson of the grieving families, Ebrima Sanyang, said the money was “an insult to the victims”.
Sanyang insisted that accepting the money would mean that they were not fighting for justice.
They said the state’s Medicine Control Agency should be removed from the ongoing investigation ordered by the president.
The families say they want the Agency to withdraw its initial claim that the children had died in flood waters and not from faulty medicine.