Medical Experimentation in Africa

African countries have been sites for clinical trials by large pharmaceutical companies, raising human rights concerns. Incidents of unethical experimentation, clinical trials lacking properly informed consent, and forced medical procedures have been claimed and prosecuted.

The Pfizer drug, Trovan was used in a clinical trial in Kano, Nigeria. The trial compared the new antibiotic (Trovan) against the best treatment available at the time (intravenous ceftriaxone). Eleven children died in the trial: five after taking Trovan and six after taking an older antibiotic used for comparison in the clinical trial. Others suffered blindness, deafness and brain damage, the cause of which is difficult to determine because these disabilities are relatively common outcomes of the disease itself. A panel of medical experts later implicated Pfizer in the incident, concluding the drug had been administered as part of an illegal clinical trial without authorization from the Nigerian government or consent from the children's parents. This led to a lawsuit from the Nigerian government over informed consent. Pfizer countered that it met all the necessary regulations. Note: the drug was then approved for general use in the US, and then eventually withdrawn due to hepatotoxicity.

AZT trials conducted on HIV-positive African subjects by U.S. physicians and the University of Zimbabwe were not performed with proper informed consent. The United States began testing AZT treatments in Africa in 1994, through projects funded by Centers for Disease Control (CDC), World health organization (WHO) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It included testing of over 17,000 women for a medication that prevents mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS. The subjects did not fully understand the testing methods, the effectiveness, the possible dangers, or the nature of a placebo in testing situations. They were also told about the trials under duress. Half of these women received a placebo that has no effect, making transmission likely. As a result, an estimated 1000 babies contracted HIV/AIDS although a proven life-saving regimen already existed. The CDC ended the short course testing in 1998 after they announced they had enough information from Thailand trials.

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