Gambia - The African Mirror

Jan

2024

Gambia keep faith with giant-killers of two years ago

AFCON 2023

GAMBIA will have a consistent look about them for this month’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in the Ivory Coast, selecting 18 players from the squad that provided a giant-killing performance at the last tournament in Cameroon two years ago. Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet only planned to name his squad on Tuesday, but the final 27-man selection had to be submitted to the Confederation of African Football last Wednesday and they made it public on Sunday. It sees a return for the bulk of the squad that reached the quarter-final on their debut appearance at the last finals, beating Tunisia…

Nov

2023

By MARK GLEESON

Ivory Coast win again in World Cup qualifiers as away teams hold sway

FOOTBALL

IVORY Coast's winning start to World Cup qualifying continued with a 2-0 victory over the Gambia as they were among five countries who had away success in group matches on Monday. Goals from Christian Kouame and Seko Fofana ensured success for the fancied Ivorians in Dar-es-Salaam, where Gambia hosted the game because their own stadia were not deemed fit enough to host international matches. Also victorious on the road were Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya and Madagascar while Mali were held to a surprise home draw as Africa’s preliminaries for the 2026 World Cup finals continued. The Ivorians, who will…

Jun

2023

By KRISHNA N. DAS and EDWARD MCALLISTER

Cough syrup deaths: Gambia tightens rules

NEWS

GAMBIA will make it mandatory for all pharmaceutical products from India to be inspected and tested prior to shipment from July 1, according to Gambian government documents reviewed by Reuters, the first known restrictions on national exports following the deaths of dozens of children linked to Indian-made cough syrups. The new rule highlights how governments are reassessing their reliance on India's $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…

Jun

2023

By KRISHNA N. DAS

Gambia syrup deaths: India probes bribery claims

NEWS

INDIAN authorities have launched an inquiry into an allegation that a local pharmaceutical regulator, in return for a bribe, helped switch samples of cough syrups that the World Health Organization (WHO) had linked to the deaths of children in Gambia before the samples were tested at an Indian laboratory, according to two government officials and documents reviewed by Reuters. In an April 29 letter to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Haryana state reviewed by Reuters, a lawyer named Yashpal accused the state's drug controller, Manmohan Taneja, of taking a bribe of 50 million rupees ($605,419) from local manufacturer Maiden Pharmaceuticals…

Jun

2023

By PAP SAINE and EDWARD MCALLISTER

Cough syrup deaths: Gambia mulls legal action

NEWS

GAMBIA has hired a U.S. law firm to explore legal action after a government-backed investigation found that contaminated medicines from India were "very likely" to have caused the deaths of children last year, the justice minister told Reuters. At least 70 children in Gambia, most under 5 years old, died from acute kidney injury between June and October. Local doctors suspected cough syrups imported from India were the likely culprit, Reuters reported earlier this year, and tests by the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the presence of lethal toxins, sparking a global hunt for contaminated medicines. Gambian Justice Minister Dawda Jallow…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Afcon Under-20: World Cup U-20 teams chosen as Gambia makes history

SPORT

BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY GAMBIA, Senegal, Nigeria, and Tunisia will represent Africa in the FIFA U-20 World Cup taking place from 20 May to June 11, 2023. The four teams secured their places following a thrilling last-eight stage of the ongoing TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, in Egypt. At the semi-final match played at the Cairo International Stadium on Monday evening (March 6), Gambia edged out seven-time U-20 world cup champions Nigeria with a 1-0 penalty win. The winning goal scored in the seventh minute fulfilled Gambia’s years-long desire to reach the finals. Their historic qualification places them…

Nov

2022

By PAP SAINE

‘No confirmation that cough syrup killed 70 children’

NEWS

GAMBIA has not yet confirmed that toxic cough syrup was the cause of the deaths of 70 children from acute kidney injury, a representative of the country's Medicines Control Agency said. The small West African state has been investigating a mysterious slew of child deaths in recent months, which police said in a preliminary investigation was linked to four cough syrups made in India. World Health Organization (WHO) investigators have found "unacceptable" levels of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol in the products, which were made by New Delhi-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd. But Gambia's Medicines Control Agency, a national regulatory body, has not yet pinpointed…

Oct

2022

By The African Mirror

Gambia says child deaths linked to cough syrup have risen to 70

NEWS

GAMBIA'S government said the number of child deaths from acute kidney injury, thought to be linked to Indian-made cough syrups, has risen to 70 from a previous toll of 69. President Adama Barrow gave the update at an emergency cabinet meeting which he convened on Thursday to discuss the crisis, according to a presidency statement. The syrups were found to be made by New Delhi-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which has since had one of its factories shut down in northern India as health authorities there investigate. The statement said that the Gambia is also investigating the deaths and this week set up…

Dec

2021

By The African Mirror

Gambian president wins re-election, opposition cries foul

NEWS

BATE FELIX GAMBIAN President Adama Barrow has comfortably won re-election, the electoral commission said has announced, though he may face a legal challenge from opposition candidates who rejected the results because of unspecified irregularities. The vote was the first in 27 years without disgraced former President Yahya Jammeh, who was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea after refusing to accept defeat to Barrow in 2016. Jammeh's despotic 22-year rule over the small West African nation of 2.5 million people, which began with a 1994 coup, was characterised by killings and torture of political opponents. Saturday's peaceful election was seen by…

Dec

2021

By The African Mirror

Gambia votes: President Barrow takes early lead

NEWS

PAP SAINE and BATE FELIX Gambian President Adama Barrow had a narrow early lead after Saturday's presidential election, according to provisional results from the first few constituencies to be verified by the electoral commission. In a test of stability and democratic progress, the small West African country is holding its first election since former President Yahya Jammeh was voted out of office in 2016, ending 22 years of autocratic rule. Barrow, a 56-year-old former security guard and property developer, ran against five rivals, including his former political mentor, Ousainou Darboe, 73, who was seen as the main challenger. Preliminary results…