By Kebba Ansu Manneh
An investigation into the causes of death of more than sixty-nine (69) Gambian children infested with Acute Kidney Injuries (AKI) has revealed shattering revelations that don’t only limit the blame of the death of the children on the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) and Gambia Pharmacy Council (GPC) but equally on the Ministry of Health.
A leading health expert who prefers to remain anonymous has revealed that many of those children who died of AKI could have been prevented. Suppose the nation’s hospitals are equipped with the right equipment with adequate health care services needed by patients.
The anonymous expert blamed the ministry for not establishing the National Medicines Quality Control Laboratory which he said contributed to the situation leading to the death of more than sixty-nine innocent children.
He observed that instead of the Ministry of Health finding out the causes of the deaths of the children, it is now on a witch-hunting expedition mainly focusing on how to sacrifice and incriminate officials of MCA and PCA for what they regarded as a conflict of interest.
“To me, the lack of types of equipment and the poor health care available at the hospitals are what led to the death of the sixty-nine (69) children. Another important thing that could have prevented the deaths is National Medicines Quality Control Laboratory but since the enactment of the laboratory Act in 2014, nothing has been achieved in that area,” our source revealed.
He added: “What the entire Ministry is doing right now is to frame innocent and hardworking Gambians at MCA and GPC instead of finding out the real cause of death of the children. The Ministry has not informed Gambians on the lack of equipment at the hospitals such as hemodialysis machines for the kids as well as the lack of medical fluids for the kids who were admitted at the hospitals.”
He alleged that because of the lack of fluids at the Edward Francis Teaching Hospital doctors were making their own fluids mixture to diagnose children who were admitted on the AKI problem, noting that some of the deaths may have been caused by these improvised medical fluids given to the kids while under admission. “It is illegal under the Gambian law for doctors or any other medical practitioners to make fluids for their patients.
Legally it is only trained pharmacists who are authorized by law to make medical fluids not the doctors but we understand some of the children who died were given these fluids prepared by one neurologist doctor at the hospital.”
He further argued that the death of these children could also be associated with the fluids they consumed, adding that most of the kids admitted at the EFSTH hospital were given the fluid prepared by the doctors because of a lack of medical fluid at the hospital which may cause the death of the kids.
The health expert continued to disclose that the prolonged admission of the children at the hospital without accessing the needed health care also accounts for the death of the children, noting that most of the children referred to Dakar to access treatment was late to be flown out of the country because of the poor management of case at the hospital.
He alleged that both the government and the Ministry have been responding to a series of requests from the MCA on the need for the Gambia to have its laboratory but to no avail.
“To me, it is wrong for the Ministry of Health to cast the blame on the MCA and GPC for its failures. So far, the MCA and PCA cannot be held liable and have been consistently delivering based on the dictates of the law, it is the Ministry that should be blamed for all these deaths,” he concluded.
Reacting to the allegations that key pharmacists’ staff were engaged in renting out their licenses to Pharmacy operators, the medical expert maintained that it is legal and lawful for license holders to rent out their license to anyone which he said has been existing since the time of the late President Jawara.
How many civil servants are conflicted by engaging in other businesses beyond their usual government work from the President, doctors, nurses, accountants, other senior government officials, and professionals, I think branding pharmacists with such is unfair and unjust,” Our Source explained.
He added: “The reason behind allowing public sector pharmacists to do private practice is to ensure that the limited number of pharmacists effectively serves both the private and public sectors. This would ensure the availability and accessibility of medicines in the country.
The conflict of interest most media houses are talking about is unnecessary because all civil servants are conflicted.
He concluded that currently, the Ministry of Health has deferred from the course of investigating the deaths of the children but rather focusing its energy to incriminate MCA and GPC officials based on what they called a conflict of interest, arguing that victimizing pharmacists based on a conflict of interest is nothing other than witch-hunting and highest form of dishonesty to people who have judiciously served the nation.