KARACHI, Aug 8: Infectious diseases are causing 58% of deaths in the poorest 20% of the world’s population and only seven per cent in the richest 20%, researchers and activists observed in a meeting held here Thursday.

The participants mentioned that most of the urgent health needs of the developing countries could be improved by better sanitation, adequate nutrition and clean water.

They said that the prevalence of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, measles, pneumonia and tuberculosis reflected that medical research was still needed to solve these problems. They pointed out that the increase in international travel and the movement of refugees had led to these diseases being more widely distributed across the world.

They were unanimous in the opinion that in medical research considerations related to the wellbeing of the human subject should take precedence over the interests of science and society.

It was observed that the scope of research involving human subjects in a developing country like Pakistan had a wide range. The research activity might have direct contact with the participants in clinical trials of new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics or it might also involve improved clinical management strategies.

It was also observed that in research when one partner was dominant in terms of funding, ethical standards might be compromised and there existed a possibility of exploitation of both researchers and research participants.

The problem, it was said, was aggravated by the fact that research participants in some developing countries, whether patients or healthy volunteers, would often be more vulnerable to exploitation than those living in rich countries.

Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects” as adopted under the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki were also referred to on the occasion.—APP