Cough syrup deaths: Where is India going wrong with its medicines

Nearly 40 years ago, 14 patients died at Mumbai’s J.J. hospital, as the medication they took was contaminated with diethylene glycol, an industrial solvent that is toxic to human beings. Over the past few weeks, at least 16 children, a majority of them in Madhya Pradesh and a few in Rajasthan have died, and their deaths are suspected to be because of the same issue: a cough syrup, given to them for treatment, contained diethylene glycol. The issue of medicines being contaminated is not new – how it happens and how it can be stopped are both well known. And yet, India, which accredits itself as the pharmacy of the world, providing generic drugs to many parts of the globe, cannot seem to ensure that medicines for its own children are safe.

What are the issues plaguing the drug regulatory system? Why do these deaths continue to take place with little accountability? And are cough syrups necessary at all for children?

Guest: Anant Phadke who is with the All India Drug Action Network, a national network that advocates for rational and affordable drug policies in India

Host: Zubeda Hamid

Edited by Jude Francis Weston

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