By Awa Sowe
On the margins of growing concerns of deaths and health complication posed by kidney problems amongst young children in The Gambia, The Minister of Health Dr. Ahmadou Lamin Samateh and his technical team recently held a press briefing on the situation of Acute Kidney Injury in the country at the ministry’s conference hall in Banjul.
Dr Samateh in his statement extended condolence messages to the families that lost their children as a result of AKI, adding that this is a national tragedy and calls for immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the importation of the syrup paracetamol consignments into The Gambia.
According to the Hon. Minister it is not the wish of any leader, health worker or family head to lose a child or family member at a tender age.
The Hon. Minister further went on to extend his apology to the public about parts of the president’s statement that was missed understood and took full responsibility of those aspects of the statement, adding that more efforts will be done to avoid such in the future.
The Hon. Minister appealed to the public for support and collaboration in this trying time when the country need to come together to address the problem at hand.
He has assured the affected families that the Government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Health and partners will continue to take necessary actions to reach to the bottom of the problem and the public will be updated accordingly.