 Let's see the breakfast and plus TV Africa and thanks for staying with us quickly. We just head straight to the killer's syrup, you know, that's happened in Gambia. Well, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, that's NAFTA, because it led Nigerians to substandard cough syrup circulating in Gambia and calling for vigilance. They are led with number 040 slash 2022, signed by NAFTA Director-General Professor Moji Shola Adiye. The statement identified the cough syrup as Promethazine oral solution and cough baby syrup, Makov baby's cough syrup and Magrib and cough syrup, saying that they might have been contaminated. The Director-General in the statement notified health providers and the public of the debt of 66 children in Gambia following the use of substandard cough syrup as reported by the WHO in September 2022. According to her laboratory analysis of sample of the four products confirmed that contain unacceptable amount of toxic substance. We have Dr. Thuy Mabawandu, who is a public health expert. He joins us this morning. Dr. Thuy, thank you for joining us. Good morning. Thank you for having me. All right. I'd like you to share your thoughts on this development. What do you make of this and how would you describe, you know, the organization? Well, it is hard to imagine that NAFTA alerts the nation to this danger. Now, let me tell you my experience in the year 1990, 1991, I think it was 1991. I was a youth copper in just actualization of general hospitals. When the first case of that thing called Ocoe in Nigeria, I was lost about 140 children. We, in the hospital, we saw that a lot of small children were coming down with renal, acute renal failure and from eating abdominal pain. That number of renal failure, we couldn't explain it until it was traced to the paracetamol syrup that is contaminated with dietary glycol. And then, of course, I remember the man that was supposed to be was picked up in Lagos and then was killed. The lab was closed then. Now, again, we see dietary glycol poisoning because actually dietary glycol is a chemical that is needed in the mixtures as a solvent, but there's a right quantity that was put there. And then sometimes you have to use ethylene glycol and other ethylene glycol. So now, again, the component of student syrup required the solvent that in a very, very tiny quantity. We saw the same thing happening in Bangladesh where we saw that a lot of children died in 1995. And if I can remember, it sounds to me right. They were having renal failure. And then they were dying. Now, we're in Gambia. We know Gambia and Nigeria are very close. We know the border issues there. And we know that people also move around this country. We must thank the mutual for the vigilance and then they are letting the whole world of this danger. We must also thank the Indian people in Haryana who actually swung into action to look at this problem. But here we are. We are the habit of buying any medication for anybody at all, especially children, should be stopped. And then, clearly, she learned that the most hygienic consults her to work as because children are very, very fragile. So the information is there. It's for us to act. What I also need to say is that the discussion must not be let at the level of Namdaq. We must take it to community health centers, power health centers and then the community or rural community where those people are doing the same. And where a lot of these people are just giving to those children without prescription, without knowledge. All right, the doc, you've actually answered most of what we wanted to ask you. But just to, for emphasis' sake, what do parents need to know? What do they need to watch out for to protect their children? Now, the first thing is that when your children is sick, don't just buy medication anywhere. Even if it's not every doctor that know how to treat children, take your children at least to a health worker for proper treatment and diagnosis. Stop buying any medication over the counter for your children. And then seek assistance. If you're sorry for that, the children is having some unusual complaints. Don't start doing some medication or praying or doing anything. All right, all right, all right. Well, Dr. Tui, so we know that Namdaq has actually asked that importers, distributors, retailers and consumers should be very careful. But where should we pay, you know, attention to? We're talking about premium now. Now, for us, the premium is actually the oversight function of the Namdaq where we have to pretend and look at those drugs that are coming in. So every syrup being manufactured in Nigeria, every syrup being imported into Nigeria should be properly checked and screened appropriately. So that's where the premium is. That's where premium is because if there are no drugs coming in, there won't be that kind of poison. If there are no drugs coming in, there won't be death. Yes, I know that the point of acting of women, or parents, or guardians, if you purchase the medication for children is also very key. But if there are no poisonous syrup entering the country, there won't be reason for anybody to be concerned or aware. So our Namdaq used to have to improve their pharmacovigilance, step up community engagement, engage the drug manufacturer and ensure that those standards are kept in drug manufacture. All right, all right. Yeah, we have to pull the plugs at this point. Because of time, we apologize to you for the earlier technical issues and getting on, but we're grateful to have you. And we hope to have you again soon. Thank you so much. Thank you very much, Dr. Tui and member Wando. It's a public health expert joining us on our phone in Lagos. Merci. It's a worrying, worrying situation. We hope that this will be solved as soon as possible. The parents will get the right information they need to be able to protect their children. But there's also the issue of your chain of distribution because it has to be imported and then it gets to a distribution before it gets to retailing and the final consumer. However, he stated that it is the responsibility of Namdaq. But I also think that all hands should be on deck. Let's pay attention to this particular one. Commendable of Namdaq right there. That's the size of a package. Thank you very much for your time. We have some updates. We have the news at 9. But please do ensure you follow us on social media across all platforms of Plus TV, Africa, on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, like you can see on your screen. My name is Kofi Retail, so return tomorrow. I am Messy Boko to have a fantastic day.