Chief Mwanachingwala and the Catholic church in Mazabuka have welcomed the decision by the Human rights commission to institute investigations into how the 46 women who participated in the Microbicide Gel clinical trial contracted the HIV virus.
Chief Mwanachingwala told ZANIS in Mazabuka today, that the probe is welcome as it will expose a lot of information the organisation has been hiding from members of the public.
Chief Mwanachingwala alleged that all the women who participated in the clinical trial have been banned from sharing their experience with outsiders especially the press.
He said only the human rights commission will rescue the affected women from the psychological problems they are going through since none of them has been briefed on the outcome of the trials.
Chief Mwanachingwala alleged that two days ago, a team of medical doctors who only identified themselves as researchers from the University of Zambia pleaded with him not to issue negative statements on the failed clinical trials when they visited him at the palace.
He however, said, he would not be silenced because the organisation is not sincere on the matter.
And Catholic Priest in Charge, Father John Mansaya told ZANIS in Mazabuka, the intervention by the human rights commission is a relief to the church.
He said the church is saddened at the negative development that led to the failed efficacy of the drug which was meant to help women in blocking the transmission of the HIV.
Fr. Mansaya complained that at the inception of the clinical trials, the church objected to the testing of the drug on human beings.
He said MDP officials maintained the drug was effective and was the quickest remedy to HIV/AIDS.
Fr. Mansaya, however, regretted that MDP has not taken trouble to brief the church on the outcome of the results.
Efforts by ZANIS to get a comment from MDP Community Liason Officer, Kennedy Mundia failed as his mobile phone was switched off.
ZANIS
Justice must prevail.
It is time to start revisiting the whole issue of HIV testing, how accurate it is, what the followed procedures are during trials and surveys, and whether you can put any confidence in them.
The truth is Zambian leaders have no interest in poor rural women, thats why they let a catastrophe like this happen.
The ethics around this study are the same ethics that apply to the Circumcision /HIV studies.
It is UNETHICAL to subject a Volunteer to a certain harm, especially one that is permanent & in this case, sure fatality, WITHOUT having any true remedy to correct that harm. WHO has produced an ETHICAL CODE on carrying out research in human subjects. Subjects SHOULD be ABLE to UNDERSTAND the RISKS they are subjecting themselves to. From the furore arising surrounding this study, it certainly seems the affected individuals DIDN’T understand that the POSSIBILITY of CONTRACTING HIV was REAL!! One would also have to ask the question, as to whether the PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR on site UNDERSTOOD these risks too!! Drug Research companies are notoriously known not to divulge all Phase I & II…
Cont. …information, i.e. Results & complications. Of course carrying out research on HIV is difficult, but to consciously expose a subject to HIV infection, is just as unethical as to expose a heathy subject to cancer cells by injecting them. If the Ministry of Health(MOH) & the ETHICS COMMITTEE did indeed consent to the study proceeding without satisfying themselves that this end result wouldn’t occur or ensure that the subjects did truly understand the risks & were not coerced by way of money or otherwise, then both MOH & Ethics Committee are culpable by way of NOT DISCHARGING THEIR DUTY OF CARE to these subjects!!!
how can the government let the poor women be used in the clinical trial as lab rats. now they have contracted HIV what next, are they going to be on another trial for ARV’s, why are they being prevented from talking to the public, we demand to know the truth what went wrong with the trial.
i spoke to a german who said they would never allow such a research on german or eu soil but we did. Do we really have research people at our unza. it is just incredible! the things we do at the expense of neighbours just because of kulya bwino na ku manga nyumba! May God have mercy on us.