First Deputy Party Chairman
APRC No To Alliance
By Buba Gagigo
APRC faction (No To Alliance Movement) has condemned the deaths of 66 children in Gambian hospitals linked to medicines imported into the country from India.
The group described as ‘medical negligence’, the latest scandal under the scandal-prone Barrow government of the West African nation.
Below is the full statement by APRC faction group (No To Alliance Movement) dated 7th October 2022 and signed by Yaya Tamba , First Deputy Party Chairman
The Executive Committee of the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) under the leadership of His Excellency, the former president of the Republic of The Gambia, Professor Yahya A.J.J Jammeh, condemn the scandalous deaths of 66 children in Gambian hospitals due to medical negligence.
The deplorable failings in our hospitals are horrifying, shameful, unforgivable, have left all families in the Gambia struck dumb with astonishment.
The actions of the Barrow Government and the Ministry of Health are unacceptable and action must be taken immediately by:
1. Suspending the Minister of health; the Director or Medical Services; Chief Medical Officer; Director of Health Promotions; and the Drugs/Medicine Control Agency/Regulatory Board
2. Fully investigate the deaths, and persons responsible in the entire chain of procurement of medicine; tests; regulations; and administration of the said drugs.
3. Instigate legal proceedings and prosecute all persons responsible, and dismiss individuals who are responsible for serious failings. They must never work in positions of care in our country again.
4. All affected families and the public must receive full and unreserved apologies.
5. All affected families must be consulted by the government and generously compensated.
6. Full drugs control programmes must be instituted with regular accreditation and tests of all imported medicines.
The inexcusable failure of our medical services has been the subject of conversations for four years and we don’t want the sacrifice of our children, by Barrow Government, to recur ever again. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
President Adama Barrow and Dr Amadou Samateh should reconsider their positions, especially Dr Samateh, the Minister of Health. His position has become untenable, and he must resign and face justice. The list of victims of the Barrow Government is becoming extensive, and rampant crimes are committed with impunity.
We highlighted the awful high maternal mortality last year to no avail. We, the APRC, and the public, are prepared to take to the streets if immediate action is not taken.
For sake of the lives and safety of Gambian citizens, we keenly anticipate swift and uncompromising action from Barrow Government, while we liaise with other partners in politics, and Civil Societies, to mount sustained campaigns against the government should they try to manipulate the investigation into this matter as they did to previous investigations.
We would like to use this heart-breaking moment to pray for families of the deceased, and those injured by the lethal doses of medicine from government hospitals. Children are the future and it’s diabolical to see incompetent and corrupt Barrow Government sacrifice them for whatever reason.
APRC stands shoulder to shoulder with Gambians, and we mourn with you all at this difficult time.
End!