Gambia stiffens import norms for Indian pharma products from July 1

New Delhi, June 22 (KNN) Gambia is getting stricter with its medicine import policy for Indian products entering the country.

This move comes after a report by a team of international experts blamed tainted medicine from India for an outbreak of kidney failure that killed more than 60 Gambian children last year.

The West African nation’s Medicines Control Agency said that the regulation will take effect from July 1.

It mandates the inspection and testing of pharmaceutical products before they’re shipped from India.

The new rule highlights how governments are reassessing their reliance on India's USD 42 billion pharmaceutical industry since the contamination came to light last year.

India's industry supplies nearly half of the pharmaceuticals used in Africa.

In April, India’s government said its officials had held meetings in Africa to ensure its drug exports did not suffer after at least 70 children died in Gambia after ingesting the cough syrup last year.  (KNN Bureau)