Page 27 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 14

“Pharmaceutical companies are business companies and
like all business companies, their main objective is to Wholeness
maximise profit while reducing cost of production. ...De-
veloping countries hold a large reservoir of diseases and ency and accountability, countries

the required number of patients can be recruited within can also take measures to hold them
a short duration. Also, compensation for lost time and to account. A sign of hope in this
wages paid to research participants in developing coun- regard comes from a recent case in
tries is small compared to what is payable to research Uganda. The high court only recent-
ly, in the case Mukoda v Internation-
participants in developed countries.” al AIDS Vaccine Initiative, set out
-Dr. Patrick I. Okonta guidelines for obtaining informed
consent from the subjects of human
clinical drug trials.
effectiveness of a global vaccination “We have to also put in the hard
effort that requires mass participa- work of providing the correct in- For 29-year-old Bello and Maryam,
tion to be effective. formation about the safety, effec- the 1996 meningitis outbreak and its
tiveness of vaccines and clear the after effect remains a bitter pill to
Dr. Samaila Suleiman, a lecturer of doubts and misconceptions that swallow and bolsters intense skep-
History at the Bayero University exist,” he added. ticism about the Covid-19 vaccine
Kano, during an interview with and the pharmaceutical industry in
Unbias the News, argued that the These doubts may be difficult to general.
skepticism over COVID-19 vaccine disprove when pharmaceutical
can be traced to historical cynicism companies remain unrepentant for “I am skeptical about taking
against the motives of western in- previous mistreatment of patients any vaccine now. I won’t take
dustrialized powers in Africa. in Africa and elsewhere, settling COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer or a
Theories like these continue to disputes with out-of-court payments different pharmaceutical company,”
flourish, from religious leaders in cloaked in secrecy. In the case of the Bello reiterates.
the country who continue to advo- Kano State, part of the damages re-
cate and lobby worshippers against quested from Pfizer included funds As health advocates struggle to fight
taking the vaccines as it leads to a to educate the public and dispel disinformation and conspiracy theo-
5G frequency radiation, to those myths about the safety of Western ries about the COVID-19 vaccines,
who argue that the virus is a hoax by medicine. it is important to remember that in
big pharmaceuticals to profiteer off some countries distrust stems not
vaccine sales. But as large pharmaceutical compa- only from ignorance, but also from
nies may continue to lack transpar- experience.
Can Transparency Fight Hesitancy?
Some Western nations are not only
sufficient in distribution, they are
also rolling out incentives, from $1 The Nuremberg Code
million cash prizes to a free dinner
and education scholarships as part The Nuremberg Code is part of the international system that emerged
of their efforts to boost vaccination after World War II, with its focus on respect for human rights, individu-
rates. al autonomy, and informed consent. In the aftermath of World War 11

in 1945, the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal held a series of
In situations where vaccine safety is trials against major war criminals and Nazi sympathizers. The verdict
one of the underlying causes of vac-
cine hesitancy what are the chances then led to the creation of the Nuremberg Code.
for these communities? “We recog-
nize that vaccine hesitancy is a glob-
al phenomenon,” Dr. Faisal Shuaib,
ED/CEO of the Nigerian National Mukoda v. International Aids Vaccine Initiative
Primary Healthcare Development
Agency opined, “as public health “In any research on human beings, each potential subject must
experts, we must do more than offer be adequately informed of the aims, methods, sources of fund-
the vaccine”. ing, any possible conflicts of interest, institutional affiliations of

the researcher, the anticipated benefits and potential risks of the
study and the discomfort it may entail.”

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