Killed by official indifference

The tragic death of at least 14 children soon after consuming contaminated cough syrup in Madhya Pradesh has forced India to reckon with its failed safety and quality control systems for pharmaceuticals.

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Children falling victim to cough syrup from India contaminated with industrial chemicals like diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol is not new. The World Health Organisation (WHO) highlighted the substandard nature of the drug after 70 children died in Gambia after consuming the cough syrup. Uzbekistan jailed an Indian national for 20 years after 68 children fell victim in similar fashion; large-scale bribery and complicity of Uzbek officials in the case were uncovered. A dozen children died in Jammu a few years ago. Evidently, the Union government and even better-administered states such as Tamil Nadu, where one cough syrup batch involved in the MP case was manufactured, failed to stem the rot. Simple rules mandating source verification of ingredients and testing of all batches—in this case pharma-grade glyc