the declaration of helsinKi in 2015 and the ethics of research in french-speaKing africa

Abstract

this article follows my book “Bioéthique pour les pays du Sud” [Bioethics forthe South]1that was intended to show the need for an African bioethics toregulate international research, especially in the context of AidS which isneither experienced nor cured the same way in the north and in the South. Manydebates occurred since the publication of this book, debates that, at first glance,sided with those who claimed, in the name of rationality and pragmatism, doublestandards of care between both hemispheres. despite a discourse based onrespect for others, the Helsinki declaration, in its 2000 version, supportedjustifications based on double standards of care. it replaces the debate on thelegitimacy of research sponsored by the north, with participants frompopulations of emerging countries, as well as the debate on the best bioethicsapproach to respond to this problematic situated at the intersection of theuniversal, ethical principles and local situations. this text is the result of areflection inspired by the conditions of legitimacy of bioethics teaching infrench-speaking Africa countries, where the lack of regulation leads toexploitation and human experimentation in the name of care.