Need to inject ethics
a vital agreement signed by the Union government to develop the aids vaccine has few takers due to the lack of transparency in the project. The allegations are that many ethical and health-related questions have been overlooked.
India recently joined hands with New York-based non-profit organisation International aids Vaccine Initiative (iavi) to develop a vaccine for the dreaded disease.
Further aiding the alliance are the Indian Council of Medical Research (icmr) and the Union health and family welfare ministry's National aids Control Organisation (naco).
Though non-governmental organisations (ngos) have welcomed the step, they are demanding greater transparency in the whole project. "Nowhere in the world has the last stage of vaccine trials involving people been completed. Ethical issues linked with conducting such trials need to be sorted out well before the sample population is chosen,' says Irfan Khan, coordinator, Care and Support Services, The Naz Foundation (India) Trust, New Delhi, an ngo on aids.
Concurring with Khan are several others. "People have to be made aware of the possible risks associated with the vaccine,' says a counsellor from tarshi (Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues).
But the government bodies involved in the project seem confident about the efficacy of the vaccine. "We are well aware of the ethical issues. As and when they arise, we will follow icmr guidelines for the clinical trials,' says Queen Saxena, deputy director, icmr. Meanwhile, others are not ready to divulge details of the agreement. P L Joshi, additional project director, naco