Hemodialysis Patients Slam BPOM Over Child Acute Kidney Injury Cases
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26 October 2022 09:49 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Hemodialysis Patient Community (KPCDI) on Wednesday argues that the high number of acute kidney injury cases among children is evidence of how poorly the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) has implemented its authority.
To date, out of 245 cases, there are 141 children who had died because of kidney complications that are believed to be caused by consuming syrup medications that have been contaminated by ethylene glycol (EG), diethylene glycol (DEG), and ethylene glycol butyl ether (EGBE) above safe levels.
KPCDI chairperson Tony Richard Samosir said BPOM as a stakeholder in the safety and quality of drugs must be responsible for the high number of cases
"Because one of the tasks and functions of BPOM is to issue a distribution permit for drugs or food so that they can be safely consumed by the public," Tony said in a written statement, on October 26.
Tony asserted that BPOM is in charge of supervising pre-market and post-market and that the agency is also responsible for laboratory tests to determine whether this syrup medicine has met the health authority’s safety requirements.
He also questioned how BPOM monitors the content, composition, and distribution permits of drugs and food consumed by the public. This further strengthens the fear of future unchecked drugs that might be hazardous that are still available in the open market.
Lack of Kidney Health Facilities
Secretary General of KPCDI Petrus Haryanto assessed that this incident is just the tip of the iceberg that had been experienced by child patients with acute kidney failure in Indonesia.
KPCID urges the government, in this case, the Ministry of Health as the Ministry in charge of public health to improve its performance and prevent similar recurrences.
"This incident also opens the veil that the government has forgotten the kidney health system not only for adults but also for children," said Petrus.
Currently, said Petrus, kidney health facilities in Indonesia tend to be very minimal and unevenly spread across regions. Starting from health facilities, and dialysis machines, to health workers—nurses and kidney doctors for adults and children—only concentrated in Java and Bali.
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