Good Enough to Use for Research, but not Good Enough to Benefit from the Results of that Research: Are the Clinical HIV Vaccine Trials in Africa Unjust?

Authors

Ruqaiijah A. Yearby, Saint Louis University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2004

Abstract

The epidemic of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection in Sub-Saharan Africa, the region most affected by the HIV pandemic and where HIV is the leading cause of death, is reaching insurmountable proportions. In fact, out of the 36.1 million HIV infections worldwide, 25.3 million, seventy percent, are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, of the more than 15,000 people who are infected with HIV every day, ninety-five percent of the cases are in populations that live in developing countries such as those located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Due to the significant number of Africans infected with HIV, many researchers and ethicists have focused their attention on granting Africa fair opportunity to have access to clinical HIV vaccine trials. But fair opportunity to participate in clinical HIV vaccine trials does not guarantee that Africans will benefit from the research because of the very nature of clinical trials.

Recommended Citation

Yearby, Ruqaiijah A., "Good Enough to Use for Research, but not Good Enough to Benefit from the Results of that Research: Are the Clinical HIV Vaccine Trials in Africa Unjust?" (2004). All Faculty Scholarship. 77.
https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/faculty/77