CEPPA Talk (online) – John Barugahare (Makerere University)

Title: Global Health Equity through Decolonizing Health Research Ethics in Africa: Leveraging Kwame Nkrumah’s Analysis of Neocolonialism.

Abstract:Background: The foundational contention of this paper is that, arguably, the ultimate ethical goal of conducting health research among humans is to provide them with better health opportunities. Because of growing perceptions that ongoing international collaborative health research between the Global North and Africa is colonial in nature, there is worry that this goal will not be easily met. Hence, there is an urgent need to decolonize international collaborative health research in Africa. Using Kwame Nkrumah’s analysis of his seminal work on ‘Neocolonialism: the last stage of imperialism’, the aim of this paper is to reflect on the potential of the current dominant trend in decolonizing health research ethics in Africa to meet the ultimate goal of decolonization. Methods: This is a purely argumentative paper based on Kwame Nkrumah’s views on neocolonialism and decolonization. The paper also uses other secondary sources to corroborate and demonstrate its argument. Results: There is a growing consensus that international collaborative health research is colonial in nature and hence a need to decolonise it. The paper argues that Nkrumah’s analysis of neocolonialism implies that the ultimate goal of decolonizing health research in Africa should be to mitigate and ultimately stop the exploitation of African people in international collaborative health research. Discussion: The paper shows that the outcomes of most decolonizing efforts, though necessary, are not enough. Unless conscientiously pursued, these efforts risk failure at meeting Nkrumah’s ultimate goal of decolonization and arguably are becoming a subtle method for facilitating, sustaining and entrenching the ultimate goal of neocolonialism—the exploitation of African peoples. Conclusion: The mission of decolonizing health research ethics in Africa needs to clearly demonstrate the potential to mitigate and ultimately end maximin exploitation in health research and be critical enough to avoid the risk of instead facilitating neocolonialism unconsciously.

John Barugahare, Ph.D., is a senior lecturer and Head, Department of Philosophy at Makerere University, Kampala – Uganda. He teaches moral philosophy, human rights and applies these in health care and health-related research. His major interest is in ethics international collaborative research. He is also interest in guiding the development of bioethics in Africa. Lately, he is exploring concepts and perspectives in the decolonization discussion, and how these can help shape our understanding of the major ethical issues in international collaborative health research, hoping to suggest ways these can be eased.

Location: online & livestreamed from Edgecliffe G03