amanet-trust.org

[gdzombo]

1.
Tempering with traditional knowledge by any individual/ organization depends on the rational and justification of the act. If the intentions of the individual/organization is deemed safe and beneficial to mankind and may led to technological advance that promotes the dignity of mankind, then tempering of the traditional knowledge towards this advancement is permitted but only if the custodian of the traditional knowledge are informed. Based on the works of the custodian of the traditional knowledge i believe the scientists need to perform more systematic research and gather more evidence based information to improve the previous knowledge.
2.
Yes, local communities participating in research and/or providing leads to scientific findings be considered partners after the life span of the particular research project they participated in. It is ethical to ensure that justice and respect is due to the participating communities because it is their members who bear the risks involved in research that led to scientific findings. There should be prior agreement that the participating communities will be recognized as research partners and that any benefit that may accrue from such a research by the virtue of bearing the risks needs to be shared with this community.

3. Local individual people and companies who use traditional knowledge derived from some known communities for trading purposes, are indeed obliged to plough back into the communities concerned. There is need for a prior agreement clearly stating that a certain % of the royalties will be awarded to the known communities. Also, companies need to develop social corporate responsibility to ensure that the communities benefit e.g availing social amenities, ward training scholarships, technology transfer etc

4. Yes, regulatory authorities mandated to regulate all medical products that are marketed to the people or restricted to certain types of products. it is the responsibility of the regularities to safeguard the rights and safety of the citizens regarding medical products in the market. However there has been noted lack of functional systems and corruption among majority of the developing countries posing a threat to it citizens.

[fkombe]

1. Should scientists temper with traditional knowledge at all?
It is okay for scientists to “tempter” with traditional knowledge if this will be of the benefit to the people involved and the community as a whole. It is unethical for scientists to use traditional knowledge for their own personal gains.

2. Should local communities participating in research and/or providing leads to scientific findings be considered partners after the life span of the particular research project they participated in?

The focus in health research has undergone a paradigm shift. Historically, research participants were viewed as research subjects who were there to provide specimen for researchers to study and discover the unknown. Indeed this is what let to the historic atrocities that "gave birth" to health ethics. This focus has changed over time. Current research participants are seen as research partners who can be engaged at all the levels of research to enhance ownership of the research outcome, positive behavior and attitude change which enhances sustainability of research. It is from such a school of thought that I believe local community participating in research should be considered as partners and be empowered to see themselves as having a proactive role in making research achieve its goals.

3. If local individual people and companies, and not international pharmaceutical companies, use traditional knowledge derived from some known communities for trading purposes, are they obliged to plough back into the communities concerned? If so, how?

Anybody (individual or companies) who use traditional knowledge derived from known communities; especially for trading purposes should be obliged to plough back to the community. It will be very unethical if any anybody used the knowledge of a certain community to benefit themselves. There may be no gold standard ways of giving back to the community as this will often depend on the community itself. However, where the community is well educated and well up to date with its rights, this may involve setting out specific terms and conditions for the organization/individual to clearly commit themselves on how this would be done during the study or at the end of the study. In most developing countries however, where most communities are illiterate this is left at the discretion of the researcher. It has become imperative that researchers see themselves as having a role in ensuring that the communities involved in research are never exploited. In this case, giving back to the community may range from acknowledging them in any published materials following the work done, to sharing the patents rights of the product/outcome. Where there is a monetary gain for example in the case of trade, there should be a clear understanding on how the profit gained shall be shared with the community involved even before the onset of the research. Such resolutions are easy to reach during the planning stage of the research where the community gate keepers could advice accordingly. Such benefits should however not be used to coarse the community in agreeing to take part in the research. This would be unethical.

4. Are regulatory authorities mandated to regulate all medical products that are marketed to the people or are they restricted to certain types of products?

There are regulatory bodies mandated to regulate all the medical products that are marketed to the people. However, the authority vested upon these regulatory bodies vary between different countries. In Africa, and more specifically in Kenya, the major predicament faced by such a body is lack of resources to properly regulate and monitor what products are eventually traded to the people. It is one thing to register and license a product after having passed all the quality tests and entirely another thing to ensure the same product reaches the public. This is what often happens in Kenya where a drug is rigorously taken through the registration process but after some time, fake products of a similar nature populate the market.

[NanaAkua]

Health issues have roots in society and I believe that all scientific decisions should be based on scientific evidence in the context of the relevant socio economic background.
If a traditional knowledge is available for a scientific research which would go a long way to improve life and promote the welfare of individuals, why not? I think there should be nothing wrong with tapping such knowledge, for medical development and human advancement.
The population amongst which a study is conducted should always be considered as partners in the course of, and after the span of the project. Researchers should always appreciate the support of the participants so that the conduct of future studies in such localities will be welcomed. Researchers should always ensure that, as much as possible, research work being conducted are or will be beneficial to the population amongst which the research is being conducted.
It is only fair that when local individuals or companies use traditional knowledge derived from some known community, for trading purposes, they plough back into the community concerned. They can do so by agreeing with the communities on what percentage of the profit accrued to, would be pumped back into the community. Such funds could be used to support developmental projects in the community.
It is the responsibility of all regulatory authorities to regulate all medical products that are marketed to the populace. If things are not streamlined, people would have lee ways into selling harmful products which would go a long way to affect other people’s health and well being.

_________________
Ellen Abrafi Boamah
Research Officer
Kintampo Health Research Centre
Ghana Health Service
P. O.Box, 200, Kintampo,
Brong Ahafo Region
Ghana.
Mobile:+233 243 910032
Tel. +233 61 38869
+233 61 38871

[bolajokoaina]

Questions to guide discussion
1. Should scientists temper with traditional knowledge at all?
Yes because this will eventually help to improve the health of the immediate community involved and eventually the larger poulace i.e.a sort of public health improvement can emanate from such alliance.

2. Should local communities participating in research and/or providing leads to scientific findings be considered partners after the life span of the particular research project they participated in?
Yes for same reason above


3. If local individual people and companies, and not international pharmaceutical companies, use traditional knowledge derived from some known communities for trading purposes, are they obliged to plough back into the communities concerned? If so, how?
Yes they should but probably the percentage going back to the community may be lower than that of international pharmaceutical companies because the local companies are not usually not as buoyant as international companies.
4. Are regulatory authorities mandated to regulate all medical products that are marketed to the people or are they restricted to certain types of products?
They should regulate all medical products but for nutrachemicals and herbal products the regulations are usually a bit relaxed but these days I think regulations should be more stringent based on the fact that some of these herbal products can actually be dangerous.
_________________
BAAINA

[elhassan]

Scientists should temper with traditional knowledge for the community sake otherwise they will loose harmony.
No need for the local partners to participate after the life span to save guard against community harm.
Locals should plough with community for the sake of further contribution and participation-in share.
Authorities should regulate all medical products in the market .

[fousseyni]

Dear Dr Aceme,

1) Scientists must be wary of traditional knowledge but not be unaware of them completely.
2) Currently local community make lot of efforts to participating in research and for that I believe they should be considered as partners.
3)Obviously after the life span of the particular research project the community must be regarded as partners. The current ethical consideration should be oriented toward this way.
I believe they are obliged to do so and the best way is to provide sufficient royalties for them. Part of these royalties will serve to fund communitary utilities (hospitals schools water sources etc..) and part will be placed in financial market to permanently generate funds for community development.
4) The regulatory authorities are quite mandated to regulate all medical products in use in the country without any restriction.

[Prof Dora Akinboye]

Dear Aceme,
Case Study 6: COMMUNAL TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY RIGHTS

In the past, traditional knowledge has provided a lot of information which has led scientist to modern discoveries. This is the essence of literature review in scientific investigations. Making efforts to obtain information from local communities should be encouraged because many things still remain hidden and undisclosed by traditional people. If care is not taken, a lot of things will go extinct and will never be retrievable. A good example is the techniques of preparing and preserving mummies by the ancient Egyptians.

Local communities participating in research and/or providing leads to scientific findings should be considered partners after the life span of the particular research project they participated in, if the research continues to live on or if there are advantages derivable from the researches. It should be noted that without the contributions of the indigenous people to the original investigation, nothing could have been gained and no information obtained.

Local individual people and companies, who use traditional knowledge derived from some known communities for trading purposes, should be obliged to plough back into the communities concerned. This may be done in various ways, as follows:
1. Spending the money to construct some things like roads, schools, etc, in the community
2. Giving scholarships to some indigenes from the community
3. Giving them money to share (this is not advisable)
4. Investing the money for the community members and spending the proceeds on any of the above,

It is very important for regulatory authorities to be mandated to regulate all medical products that are marketed to the people. They should not be restricted to certain types of products because they should care for the health of their citizens and make sure that whatever they consume is standardized.

[Roland Bulu Martin]

Should scientists temper with traditional knowledge at all?
Yes, scientist should temper with traditional knowledge, but not without calling the traditional people’s attention. The scientist must be able to explain to the traditional people what is it he is tempering with and why. He must let them know what ill he found and what he is doing to improve it.

2. Should local communities participating in research and/or providing leads to scientific findings be considered partners after the life span of the particular research project they participated in?
Yes, local communities participating in research and/or providing lead to scientific findings should be considered partners. The role of the communities was vital. Their participation give a “lead”. Without the cooperation of local communities, who knows, the research would have been impossible or a failure; therefore, they must be considered partners no matter how small their contributions may seem.

3. If local individual people and companies, and not international pharmaceutical companies, use traditional knowledge derived from some known communities for trading purposes, are they obliged to plough back into the communities concerned? If so, how?
Yes. It is absolutely wrong to take away from the communities without giving back. Every Community should benefit from what ever good comes out of it. It should not matter who, once money is being generated some portion should go back to the community. The groups or individuals must give back to the community through fees and taxes. These groups or individuals must be made to register with fees and annually or bi-annually pay taxes on their profit to the communities. National governments should pass laws to state that whatever thing of value that comes from the land that was not planted or put there by anyone should benefit the community even if it is found on private land. Natural resources that grow on the land or are found in the earth should not benefit a few but the entire community

4. Are regulatory authorities mandated to regulate all medical products that are marketed to the people or are they restricted to certain types of products?
Regulatory authorities should be mandated to regulate all medical products that are marketed to the people and not be restricted to certain types of products. Once it has to do with drugs and the human body, it should be regulated without discrimination. All medical products must be subject to human (and animal) protection, and therefore must be regulated.


Roland Bulu Martin
U L PIRE Africa Center
University of Liberia
Monrovia, Liberia
West Africa
_________________
R. Bulu Martin

[naah tabala felicite]

the fact here is the harmonisation of traditional medecine. this will lead to legal frameworks protecting traditional practicioners thus by so doing the intellectuall property rights will be respected. effectively, this drugs will become patent, mandatory and prone to regulatory authorities. in the case were they are not patented it becomes restricted to the use of the general population. harmonisation will thus bring in collaboration research with scientist.

[sithembile Ruzario]

1)Should scientists temper with traditional knowledge at all?
Yes, scientists should tamper with traditional knowledge because this will preserve local medicinal plant knowledge and it use. Herbalists are very secretive and once he or she dies is a library in flames. If scientists tamper with their medicinal knowledge, the knowledge is preserved as it will be known from generation to generation and is documented. Scientists also need to discover new therapies for a range of local and internationally important diseases. If traditional herbs are found to be effective through research, there is going to be local economic development.
2. Should local communities participating in research and/or providing leads to scientific findings be considered partners after the life span of the particular research project they participated in?
Communities participating in research or providing leads to scientific findings should be considered partners after the life span of the particular research project they participated. Communities should be engaged at every stage of research including partnership after life span of research. This will make sure that there is community benefit well after research since there is community partnership. Exploitation is also minimised when there is community partnership.
3. If local individual people and companies, and not international pharmaceutical companies, use traditional knowledge derived from some known communities for trading purposes, are they obliged to plough back into the communities concerned? If so, how?
Yes they are obliged to plough back into the communities concerned so that they improve their standard of life in terms of building schools, roads, clinics and other amenities. Communities are supposed to benefit from their natural resources and their traditional knowledge need to be acknowledged in the form of benefits.
4. Are regulatory authorities mandated to regulate all medical products that are marketed to the people or are they restricted to certain types of products?
Yes they regulate everything marketed to the people to ensure safety of the general populace. A free for all environment endangers people’s lives and there will be general loss of confidence by the public in the regulatory powers of the authorities.

_________________
Sithembile Ruzario
Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe
Research Training and Monitoring Officer
sithembileruzario@yahoo.co.uk

[sithembile Ruzario]

1)Should scientists temper with traditional knowledge at all?
Yes, scientists should tamper with traditional knowledge because this will preserve local medicinal plant knowledge and it use. Herbalists are very secretive and once he or she dies is a library in flames. If scientists tamper with their medicinal knowledge, the knowledge is preserved as it will be known from generation to generation and is documented. Scientists also need to discover new therapies for a range of local and internationally important diseases. If traditional herbs are found to be effective through research, there is going to be local economic development.
2. Should local communities participating in research and/or providing leads to scientific findings be considered partners after the life span of the particular research project they participated in?
Communities participating in research or providing leads to scientific findings should be considered partners after the life span of the particular research project they participated. Communities should be engaged at every stage of research including partnership after life span of research. This will make sure that there is community benefit well after research since there is community partnership. Exploitation is also minimised when there is community partnership.
3. If local individual people and companies, and not international pharmaceutical companies, use traditional knowledge derived from some known communities for trading purposes, are they obliged to plough back into the communities concerned? If so, how?
Yes they are obliged to plough back into the communities concerned so that they improve their standard of life in terms of building schools, roads, clinics and other amenities. Communities are supposed to benefit from their natural resources and their traditional knowledge need to be acknowledged in the form of benefits.
4. Are regulatory authorities mandated to regulate all medical products that are marketed to the people or are they restricted to certain types of products?
Yes they regulate everything marketed to the people to ensure safety of the general populace. A free for all environment endangers people’s lives and there will be general loss of confidence by the public in the regulatory powers of the authorities.
_________________
Sithembile Ruzario
Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe
Research Training and Monitoring Officer
sithembileruzario@yahoo.co.uk

[cwasunna]

It is accpetable for scientists to partner with indigenous communities to better understand their knowledge and practices. The San people have benefited from their use of the traditional plant and sharing this knowledge is indeed beneficial for mankind. It is important their knowledge be fully acknowledged, the San people given communities due recognition and have a share in the royalties even after the life span of the research project.

All over the world, families have knowledge of plants of medicinal value but they are unwilling to disclose it or collaborate with scientists because of the histories of betrayal. Efforts should be made to build trust with communities and work together in partership for mutual good.