A year after an investigation revealed widespread use of a substandard cancer drug, the World Health Organization and national drug regulators around the world have come under fire for failing to protect children from the dangerous chemotherapy.

The WHO plays a major role in protecting people worldwide from bad medicines. One of the fastest ways it is able to warn governments about a dangerous or ineffective drug is by issuing a medical product alert. This prompts governments to take action such as recalling the drugs or investigating the manufacturers. But the WHO has issued no alert about the problematic cancer drug.

Last January, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), in partnership with STAT, revealed that at least a dozen brands of asparaginase, a key childhood chemotherapy drug, had failed quality tests. In some cases they fell well below the standard needed to treat cancer and many contained contaminants such as bacteria. It put an estimated 70,000 children — mostly in low- and middle-income countries — at risk.

One year on, neither national governments nor the WHO has taken meaningful action, with both sides claiming communication breakdowns and a lack of evidence. And doctors are frustrated that these brands are still for sale.