Developing world bioethics
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The Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Consortium is a conglomeration of research and infrastructure projects spread throughout Africa whose aim is to apply genomic methodology to diseases affecting the people in the region. Its operation is innovative in the sense that it is doing something new; that is, filling a hitherto existing void in genomic research capability of African scientists and infusing resources and manpower to institutions and investigators across Africa. ⋯ Specifically, the paper discusses protection of research participants as envisaged by H3Africa in the area of consent, safeguarding privacy, maintaining confidentiality of health information and sharing of data/biospecimens. The ultimate goal is to determine whether H3Africa initiatives and processes are consistent or at odds with international guidelines and best practices.
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Bioethics is a relatively new addition to bedside medical care in Arab world which is characterized by a special culture that often makes blind adaptation of western ethics codes and principles; a challenge that has to be faced. To date, the American University of Beirut Medical Center is the only hospital that offers bedside ethics consultations in the Arab Region aiming towards better patient-centered care. ⋯ Using the case of a child with multiple medical problems and a futile medical condition, we describe how the collaboration of the medical team and the clinical ethics consultant took a comprehensive approach to accompany and lead the parents and the medical team in their decision-making process and how the consultations allowed several salient issues to be addressed. This approach proved to be effective in the Arab cultural setting and indeed did lead to better patientcentered care.