African bioethics: methodological doubts and insights

Abstract

BackgroundA trend called ‘African bioethics’ is growing on the continent due to perceptions of existing bioethics, especially guidelines for international collaborative research, as ‘ethical imperialism’. As a potential alternative to ‘Western Principlism,’ ‘African bioethics’ is supposed to be indigenous to Africa and reflective of African identity. However, despite many positive insights in the on-going discussions, it is feared that the growth of bioethics in Africa lacks a clear direction. Some of the views threaten to distort the essence of bioethics and its development on the continent.Main textThis paper presents some of the dominant views on ‘African bioethics’, an examination of which reveals some valuable insights into the direction bioethics in Africa ought to take, but at the same time confirms some methodological challenges in some contributions to the discussion. On top of acknowledging critical insights in the discussion, the paper reveals that some views are characterized by arbitrariness and rhetorical discussions based on a strong negative and yet hard-to-accept assumption; doubtful designation; lack of a clearer problem being addressed and consequently obscure question(s) and aim(s) of the discourse. Finally, some methodological insights are proposed to guide bioethics research and scholarship in Africa. Specifically, the paper proposes that in search for the legitimacy of bioethics in Africa, we ought to protect the essence of bioethics by giving considerable attention to the utility of subsequent bioethics. To achieve this we need to specify the problem and proper designation for the discourse; focus on principles qua principles with impartiality and how to ensure their strict implementation; and encourage critical thinking as part of bioethics.ConclusionIn cultivating bioethics in Africa, the pursuit of identity is legitimate but must be conditional in light of other competing considerations. We should focus on an objective search for bioethical principles that can be effective in responding to African and global health challenges of moral significance, irrespective of the origin of the principles and at the same time focus more on strategies for ensuring compliance with resulting principles.

Cultural Values and Beliefs of Selected Local Communities in Botswana: Implications for Human Subject Research Ethics Practice

“…Finally, further exploration of the extent to which community values across various parts of Africa align with international principles of research ethics is encouraged. This work could help to ground the ongoing largely theoretical debate on the need for a distinct "African Bioethics" (Barugahare, 2018).…”

“…For example, Ssebunnya (2017) suggested that "rather than pursuing a distinct African bioethics, African bioethicists and philosophers would do well to elucidate the universalizability of communitarian traditional African thought-and thus enrich the content-thin concept of the common morality-for the benefit of bioethics as a whole" (p. 30). Barugahare has also argued that thoughtful analysis should be provided to determine how well suited existing international principles of ethics are to the African context, suggesting that merely a superficial focus on how they were generated is short-sighted (Barugahare, 2018).…”

Paliativos pediátricos en África

“…De ahí que, en algunos ambientes universitarios, ante la percepción de un creciente colonialismo ético, esté surgiendo con fuerza la necesidad de implementar una bioética africana, que ponga su foco en las necesidades y conflictos propios, y que emerja, a la vez, como alternativa potencial al modelo principialista occidental (Barugahare, 2018).…”

Fairness and accountability of AI in disaster risk management: Opportunities and challenges

“…Yet, this is a principle that has been widely challenged in other areas of research as not being representative of more communitarian values, such as those held by many cultures across Africa. 49,50 In such contexts, community-oriented decision-making processes may in fact be promoted and valued, rather than individualistic ones. This is a case of a principle and its associated values being deemed important from an ll OPEN ACCESS imported context, where in fact critical reflection and application is required.…”