In what can only be seen as a clear sign that Kenya’s biomedical research establishment has come of age, the three-year-old Bioethics Society of Kenya held its inaugural conference at the Kenyatta University Conference Center on the 17th and 18th of December 2015.
In his address to the gathering, the Conference Convener, Prof David Ayuku defined the mission of this young community of research professionals: “We’re working towards transforming the way ethics in life sciences has been practiced in order to continuously improve our ability to promote ethics in research, medicine and health care. Our members and partners have continued to meet the challenges of our field and to excel despite setbacks."
The conference involved seminar presentations from selected speakers as well as presentation of articles from distinguished scholars in selected thematic areas.
Philosophical implications
Bioethics may be defined loosely as “a field of study concerned with the ethics and philosophical implications of certain biological and medical procedures, technologies, and treatments, as organ transplants, genetic engineering, and care of the terminally ill.”
In the Kenyan context, bioethical considerations are particularly influential in determining what kind of research may be carried out using patients infected by endemic diseases like TB and HIV/AIDS. Especially when it comes to research involving foreign specialists and others, who can easily be accused by local commentators of “using poor Kenyans as guinea pigs.”
Such accusations are very difficult to answer, in the absence of clear and rigorous guidelines originating from a professional body of local researchers, such as the BSK.
But bioethics goes beyond these purely local considerations. According to one online source, “The field of bioethics has addressed a broad swathe of human inquiry, ranging from debates over the boundaries of life (e.g. abortion, euthanasia), surrogacy, the allocation of scarce health care resources (e.g. organ donation, health care rationing) to the right to refuse medical care for religious or cultural reasons.
Bioethicists often disagree among themselves over the precise limits of their discipline, debating whether the field should concern itself with the ethical evaluation of all questions involving biology and medicine, or only a subset of these questions.”
Springboard to greater things
In her welcome note the Chairperson BSK, Prof Elizabeth Anne Bukusi, took a congratulatory tone, in addressing the members: “It is motivating that barely three years after inception we can enjoy the first fruits of the Society which is this conference. The conference will be a springboard to greater things that BSK will get involved in going forward. The society will continue on the path of growth and establish itself as a force to reckon with in matters bioethics in Kenya and beyond. We are very proud of where we are today and excited about where we are headed.”
Adding further that “As a developing nation, Kenya is facing the double burden of diseases; infectious diseases continue to impact the health of the population negatively, and non-communicable disease cases are on the rise”, Dr. Bukusi argued that “This situation means that more medical research will continue to be conducted within Kenya to help address these health problems. The double burden of disease also implies that the healthcare system will also be overburdened. More medical research and a strained health system are fertile breeding grounds for ethical challenges and dilemmas for both researchers and health providers.”
Drive dialogue in bioethical issues
At the opening ceremony, Dr. Fred Matiang’i, the Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Education Science and Technology was represented by Dr George Ombakho, the Director for Research and development.
In the speech read on behalf of Dr Matiangi, the CS noted that “I am glad you made the decision to create the BSK. Such a body will have the capacity and flexibility to interact with all stakeholders and drive dialogue in bioethical issues.
You will engage the media, the three arms of government , the public, academia and students in their own language so that you get the real meaning of things that matter most to them and to all of us.
We look forward to a time when public engagements in ethics are informed by actual knowledge and founded on solid reasoning. Your intervention is mostly required in the arena of research using human subjects.”
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Courtesy of Bayer Healthcare