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| Title: | The protection of participants in clinical research in Africa: does domestic human rights law have a role to play? |
| Author: | Nienaber, Annelize |
| Year: | 2008 |
| Periodical: | African Human Rights Law Journal |
| Volume: | 8 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Pages: | 138-162 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Subsaharan Africa |
| Subjects: | medical research professional ethics human rights constitutional law |
| Abstract: | Given the burden of disease in sub-Saharan Africa, it is critical that clinical research be undertaken to alleviate the problems faced in this regard by the region. However, developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere generally lack the resources to carry out health care research by themselves and rely to a large extent on research sponsored by developed countries and international pharmaceutical corporations. Sponsors of clinical research tend to search out the least expensive, least burdensome regulatory environment with the lowest liability exposure, in order to avoid litigation in the event of injury to participants. With this in mind, the present article investigates the protection of clinical research participants in sub-Saharan Africa by domestic human rights instruments. It assesses the weaknesses in the existing regulatory framework in the form of international and national ethical guidelines, and surveys domestic human rights law in selected African countries to ascertain whether domestic human rights law may be used to augment and enhance the existing system of protection. It concludes that domestic human rights law has an important (if hitherto unutilized) role to play in the protection of clinical research participants in sub-Saharan Africa. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract] |