Author
Larry Krotz posits that there is a perplexing disjunction
between the objective, rational analysis of situations
in Africa – usually bleak and disheartening –
and the actual experience of being there and of participating
in a variety of enjoyable and even positive social encounters.
In his book The
Uncertain
Business of Doing Good: Outsiders in Africa, he
gives a very accessible testimony of this apparent contradiction.
In several sections of his book, he
illustrates
from practice how basic ethical principles of medical
research provide particular challenges for research
endeavors in non-Western nations where the research
is being initiated by ‘outsiders’ for whom
the outcomes of the research may sometimes be seen as
being more important for the researchers than it is
for the subjects of the research.
At the end of the book the reader is left with more
uncertainties and questions - Krotz questions the ‘meaning
of it all’, and reflects on the many failures
that have taken place and which still do take place
in spite of well meaning attempts to work towards positive
changes.
In 1996, Pfizer conducted a clinical trial of a new antibiotic during an outbreak of bacterial meningitis in Kano, Nigeria. Eleven children died and others were badly injured, according to trial participants. The story inspired the movie The Constant Gardener, pictured here. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether to consider a suit against Pfizer brought by families of the victims. CGD visiting fellow Tom Bollyky explores the potentially far-reaching impacts of the case.
