Health
Indonesia bans cough syrup after 99 children die of kidney injuries
Indonesia has halted sales of medicinal syrup after 99 children died of acute kidney injuries this year.
The ban will remain until the health ministry completes an investigation into the cause of the illness, with 206 cases recorded so far in mostly children under six years old, Bloomberg reported.
Authorities are looking into the potential toxicity of ingredients used in the liquid drugs.
“To protect our children, who are most heavily affected by this, we decided to issue this policy,” said Health Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Syahril in a statement late Wednesday. Cases have been surging since late August, he added.
The World Health Organization has warned that a deadly batch of cough syrups linked to deaths in Gambia could have been distributed to other countries.
The liquid drugs made by India’s Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd. aren’t licensed to be sold in Indonesia, and the country has banned the contaminants found in the Gambia cases, bloomberg reported.
But the local food and drug agency warned that the contaminants might be found in glycerin or propylene glycol, which are solvents used in syrup-based medicines.
The government found that 15 out of 18 liquid paracetamol and other syrup medicines it tested contain ethylene glycol as a dissolving agent, which could be toxic, according to Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono.
Health
Public Health minister meets with head of the UN refugees agency
Dr. Qalandar Ebad, the Minister of Public Health met with Leonard Zulu, the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, on Thursday in Kabul to discuss issues facing the health sector in the country.
Among the issues discussed was that of the establishment of new health centers for returnees in the country.
Ebad said the provision of better health services for compatriots and returnees was one of his priorities and requested the cooperation of this organization in this field.
Leonard Zulu assured Ebad of the organization’s continued cooperation.
Health
Ebad addresses gathering of health sector supporting organizations in Doha
The Minister of Public Health of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Qalandar Ebad on Thursday attended a meeting of health sector-supporting organizations in Doha, Qatar and spoke about the need to focus on certain areas of healthcare in the country.
In his speech, Ebad spoke of work needed to reform the health system, joint supervision, self-sufficiency of the health sector, standardization of health services at village and district level and provision of all-round health services.
He asked international colleagues in the field of health to work more on reducing administrative costs and delivering aid in a proper and correct manner.
Ebad said that if excessive administrative expenses are prevented, it will have a positive effect on the expenses in the field of health services.
He also emphasized that the release of the country’s frozen assets would be beneficial for the health sector especially for mothers and children.
It is a big and positive step for the independence of Afghanistan’s health system, development and standardization of health services, which should be taken by the international community, he said.
Health
Polio vaccination campaign underway in Afghanistan
The Ministry of Public Health, in cooperation with international institutions, on Monday launched the second sub-national polio vaccination campaign for 2024.
The campaign runs in different parts of the country from 26 to 29 February 2024, and aims to reach 7.6 million children below the age of five.
“We are committed to eradicating polio in Afghanistan with the cooperation of our partners. We are working day and night and continue supplementary polio vaccination campaigns and health care services in order to reach the goal of completely eradicating polio throughout the country,” Acting Public Health Minister Qalandar Ebad said.
“The support of all Afghans, especially elders and religious scholars, is important in polio eradication activities. It is necessary for them to participate in the fight against polio and keep their children healthy,” he added.
Polio is a viral disease that cannot be cured and can only be prevented and eradicated by vaccination.
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