Metro

Tanzania, Rwanda others recall Johnson & Johnson children’s cough syrup

Published

4 weeks ago

April 16, 2024

As a safety step, drug regulators in Tanzania, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe have called back a batch of Johnson & Johnson children’s cough syrup after their counterparts in Nigeria said that lab tests showed high levels of toxicity.

These countries are the fourth and fifth to recall the same batch of syrup. The syrup is used to treat children with coughs, hay fever, and other allergic responses. South Africa has also called back another group.

Nigeria’s health regulator, NAFDAC found a high amount of diethylene glycol in the syrup. This chemical has been linked to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia, Uzbekistan, and Cameroon since 2022, in one of the worst waves of poisoning from oral medications in the world. Diethylene glycol is dangerous for people to eat or drink and can cause sudden kidney failure.

J&J made the recalled batch of Benylin Paediatric syrup in South Africa in May 2021. However, the brand is now owned by Kenvue (KVUE.N), which split off from J&J last year. The Tanzania Medicines and Medical Devices Authority (TMDA) said the recall began on April 12 after learning about the test results in Nigeria.

“This is an exercise that does not involve investigation but rather monitoring to ensure that those affected drugs are removed from the market,” TMDA spokesperson Gaudensia Simwanza told Reuters on Monday.

A spokesperson for Kenya’s drug regulator said its test results on the syrup would likely be ready on Wednesday. “A review of our safety database doesn’t reveal any adverse events reported,” the Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority said in a statement dated April 12. “However, Rwanda FDA issues the present recall for precautionary measures.”

The Medicines Control Agency of Zimbabwe said it didn’t know when the product was brought into the country, but it was worried that the syrup could get into the market without permission. In this case, it said it would do more checks.

Metro

Nigeria targets 10,000MW hydropower through sustainable power project

Published

2 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, says the federal government is targeting10,000 megawatts through its Sustainable Power and Irrigation Project for Nigeria (SPIN) in collaboration with the World Bank.

Adelabu who disclosed this at during the African High-Level Roundtable on Sustainable Hydropower in the African Renewable Energy Mix of the 21st Century, held in Abuja on Wednesday, said the “primary objective of the project is to enhance the utilisation of existing storage facilities for both irrigation and hydropower generation.”

He added that the project aims to strengthen institutional frameworks related to integrated water resources management within Nigeria.

“SPIN aims to unlock additional 10GW combined capacity from existing dams with provision for hydro but not fitted, partially incomplete dams with provisions for hydropower, Greenfield projects and existing multipurpose dams that can be modified/redesigned and retrofitted,” Adelabu said.

The Minister who acknowled the immense potential for hydropower development in Africa, said it is important to also consider responsible development.

“We must address environmental concerns around dam construction and ecosystem disruption, alongside social impacts on local communities. This requires a commitment to sustainability, stakeholder engagement, and innovative solutions to financing these large-scale projects.”

The Minister also stated that for several decades, hydropower has played a significant role in Nigeria’s energy supply, contributing approximately 20 per cent to the nation’s total grid supply as of now.

Adelabu emphasised Nigeria’s wealth of water resources across its various basins while the country’s hydropower capacity is estimated at 14 GW, only around 15 per cent of this potential has been harnessed.

“The country has over 340 dams spread across different geo-political zones, under the management of the three government tiers and many are not optimally utilized or at risk of damage.

“For the small hydropower, a multitude of river systems, providing about 70 micro dams, 126 mini dams, and 86 small sites, supply a technically exploitable capacity of 3.5GW, but only 1.7per cent (0.06GW) of these resources are currently being tapped, while there are about 10GW of potential untapped capacities from the large and medium-sized hydropower,” he added.

Metro

Zambian opposition New Heritage Party accuses govt of dictatorship

Published

19 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

One of Zambian opposition parties, the New Heritage Party (NHP), has accused the government of dictatorship after the police insisted on a written list of speakers for the party’s upcomng rally in Lusaka’s Mandevu area.

NHP’s President, Chishala Kateka, who made the allegations in a statement on Tuesday, said the National Police also requested a registration certificate from the party before considering their request for approval to hold the rally, an action she said was dictatorial.

The NHP leader said the party had, in a letter to the police, it had expressed its intention to hold a mass rally in Mandevu on June 1, and also submitted their registration certificate to the police.

Kateka however, described the police response to the party’s request as a colonial-era policing of rallies before Zambia’s independence.

“Raphael Musamba’s police command has now demanded the New Heritage Party to provide them with an official list of speakers for the Mandevu rally on June 1, 2024,” Kateka stated in the statement.

Kateka said the NHP would indeed provide the list of its speakers at the rally but expressed concerns that the intention behind these demands might be to prevent any United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) presidents from speaking at the Mandevu rally.

“We are aware that President Hakainde Hichilema and his police are apprehensive about UKA and are striving to divide the alliance using State institutions and operatives, including registering a fake UKA,” she further alleged.

Kateka also argued that the law does not require a political party to produce both a registration certificate and a written list of speakers to hold a mass rally.

“This is simply dictatorship on display. Unfortunately, President Hichilema and his lieutenants within the police force are willing to breach the law of the land to serve their agenda,” she stated.

Kateka also expressed her concerns that the police’s actions appeared to be an attempt to dictate the proceedings of political party associations.

“Today, it’s the New Heritage Party, UKA alliance, and the Church facing persecution. Tomorrow, it could be NGOs and Civil Society Organizations,” she warned.