The World Health Organization, WHO, has called on countries to prevent, and respond to incidents of substandard and falsified medical products.
WHO revealed that over the past four months, countries have reported several incidents of over-the-counter cough syrups for children with confirmed or suspected contamination with high levels of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol.
The contaminants are toxic chemicals used as industrial solvents and antifreeze agents that can be fatal even taken in small amounts, and should never be found in medicines, the UN body warned.