In order to stop infant deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged member nations to act right away on unsafe medications.

Since October, diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG), two hazardous substances used in industry, have been found in tainted medications in seven different nations.

In Indonesia, The Gambia, and Uzbekistan, 300 kids aged five and under passed away last year as a result of acute renal damage brought on by subpar medications.

In each case, the WHO issued a global alert urging nations to remove the medications from the market right away and step up surveillance to find them.

The international organisation is now advising businesses to get raw materials from reputable suppliers, test their goods, and maintain records of the procedure. Distributors have also been urged to sell only items that have received approval from the authority and to look out for indicators of forgery.

The high fatality rate has frequently been attributed to weak regulatory frameworks and a lack of resources to identify outbreaks quickly. In the majority of cases, the corporations in question have refuted claims that their goods are tainted. As a result, nations have been encouraged to invest more money in inspecting their factories.

A parliamentary committee in The Gambia suggested that Maiden Pharmaceuticals, the Indian producers of cough syrups implicated to at least 70 child fatalities, be prosecuted.