Addressing sub-Saharan Africa's burden of endemic diseases: a case for mandatory citizen participation in reaserach on malaria and type 2 diabetes

Ogbozor, Ililochi Basil (2025) Addressing sub-Saharan Africa's burden of endemic diseases: a case for mandatory citizen participation in reaserach on malaria and type 2 diabetes. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Driven by a passion for ethical compliance in health practices and research in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), this thesis explores how Indigenous African bioethics can align with and enhance global moral principles to improve health outcomes. SSA bears a heavy disease burden, with endemic conditions like malaria and Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) posing significant health crises. These issues, responsible for over half a million annual deaths in SSA from malaria-related illnesses alone, should be recognized as health emergencies requiring urgent action. The thesis advocates for mandatory participation in research-based interventions targeting malaria and T2DM across SSA, given malaria parasite’s unpredictable behavior and SSA’s low health literacy. While acknowledging concerns about personal autonomy and privacy, it argues that the ethical imperative to save lives and reduce suffering outweighs these concerns. The work also proposes safeguards, grounded in SSA’s culturally embedded values and ethos, to protect participants and communities from exploitation during and after these interventions.

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