Senegal’s health authorities are under pressure after expired raw materials were found at a factory producing baby nappies and sanitary towels. Conflicting statements from the country's regulator along with allegations of attempted corruption and delays in an official inquiry are fuelling concern.
Some 1,300 kilograms of expired raw materials have been discovered at a Softcare factory, a subsidiary of a Chinese group specialising in the manufacture of baby nappies and sanitary towels.
On 8 December the Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (ARP) ordered the withdrawal from the market of the brand’s products, but reversed its decision a week later, stating that no expired materials had been used in the manufacture of the nappies.
'Who is telling the truth?'
The ARP's contradictory reports, coupled with accusations of attempts to bribe the agency’s inspectors, have fuelled doubts in Senegal. The opposition party FRAPP (Front for a Popular and Pan-African Anti-Imperialist Revolution) is calling for clarification.
"Who is telling the truth? On what scientific and technical grounds are these two contradictory statements based? asks Magor Dieng, a member of FRAPP. "And above all, were Senegal’s children exposed to potentially dangerous products or not?"
He underlines that nappies are not an ordinary product. "These are items in direct, prolonged and intimate contact with the fragile skin of infants. The slightest negligence can have serious consequences: irritation, infections, hormonal disorders or other long-term impacts," he continues.
‘We want to be clear. We are not condemning any company without evidence, but we categorically refuse vagueness, silence and contradictions," he told RFI's correspondent in Senegal Léa-Lisa Westerhoff. "That is why we solemnly call for an official and definitive clarification from the Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency, based on verifiable facts."
Still no conclusions
On 19 December, the Ministry of Health announced a joint mission with the Ministry of Trade to shed light on the affair. Two weeks later, the conclusions of that fact-finding mission have still not been made public.
For Dr Serigne Modou Babou, the management of the ARP must also be scrutinised.
"There have been reports for months, even for more than a year, of opaque and questionable management within the Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency," he told RFI. "We recently submitted a letter requesting the publication of the ARP audit."
More than 1,000 citizens have signed a petition calling for full transparency over the manufacture of Softcare products. A parliamentary inquiry has also been set up to inform MPs on the issue.
This article was adapted from the original in French and has been lighted edited for clarity.
