Singgih Wiryono, Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) says that the cases of acute kidney failure in children are because of weak supervision by the government over the distribution of medicines.
YLBHI Chairperson Muhammad Isnur says that the distribution of many drugs has escaped supervision by the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) resulting in hundreds of deaths.
"We regret the weak function of supervision from the government in this case the Drug and Food Supervisory Agency," Isnur said in a written statement on Tuesday October 25.
Therefore, the government should immediately investigate the pharmaceutical company that provided the liquid drugs containing compounds that cause acute kidney failure.
According to Isnur, if the government finds a violation of the law, then firm action must be taken.
"The government must take firm action in the form of administrative actions to revoke temporary or permanent permits in accordance with the stipulations of Article 188 Paragraph 3 of the Health Law", added Isnur.
On the other hand, producers could also be subject to Article 196 of the Health Law which carries a sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of 1 billion rupiah.
In addition, the YLBHI also emphasised that the victim's family could demand material and non-material compensation from producers and drug providers that caused the children's death.
"And (also made demands) of the government because of its negligence in conducting supervision, causing citizens to lose their lives", concluded Isnur.
The Ministry of Health has reported that as of October 23 the number of cases of the mysterious acute kidney disorder (Acute Kidney Injury/AKI) in Indonesia has reached 245 and are spread across 26 provinces.
Meanwhile the number of deaths as a consequence of the toxic medicines has reached 141 children and toddlers.
AKI sufferers are still dominated by toddlers, with 25 cases affecting children aged less than one year, 161 cases affecting by children aged 1-5 years, 35 cases affecting children aged 6-10 years and 24 cases affecting by children aged 11-18 years.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "YLBHI Nilai Kasus Gagal Ginjal Akut Akibat Lemahnya Pengawasan BPOM".]
