Planned US Ebola quarantine centre a typical case of ethical dumping

While every person has the right to enjoy their health as proclaimed in various international, regional, and local instruments and laws, the State, as the duty bearer, should protect it’s citizens against any intentional risks of infection.

The US government has suggested a plan to set up a 50-bed quarantine and treatment facility at the Laikipia Air Base for American citizens exposed to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or any neighbouring countries.

This move is a typical ethical dumping approach where the so-classified as first world nations unethically conduct research in third-world countries. Such research is unacceptable in their own countries, where the ethical guidelines cannot condone it. This means taking advantage of the Global South countries’ weak or ethical loopholes.

Can the US agree to host such a facility for its neighbouring countries, should there be an outbreak or emergency?

Power imbalance continues to play a big role in the world. There cannot be genuine and voluntary consent to some of the suggested activities, like setting up a quarantine centre in Kenya or other African countries for Ebola cases or suspected ones. Such requests raise suspicion about the motive behind them and whether there are genuine reasons to do so.

The plan to set up the quarantine and treatment facility is an insult to Kenya’s sovereignty. Contemplating doing so is to lack respect for the entire nation. If President Donald Trump is not willing to accommodate his affected citizens in the US, why should Kenya bear the burden and risk?

In the early stages or most critical situation of infection, the US should consider it’s affected citizens as most vulnerable and in need of their welcome and care back home. 

There is no doubt that the Ebola risk is high. The WHO declared that Ebola constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. Therefore, Kenya cannot risk or sacrifice it’s citizens at the expense of the US citizens.

Every person, regardless of their nationality, social status, race, condition, or sex, enjoys inalienable dignity and respect. Imagining that some states can enjoy this innate right more than others is an abuse of power and a misconception of the same. It is treating other citizens inhumanely against the declared and universally accepted human rights.

The low and middle-income countries lack infrastructure and capacity in many aspects. If the intended Ebola facility was in good faith, then it should also serve non-US citizens infected by the virus. The right place should be in the DRC where the virus erupted.

If the US seems to trust Kenya on one angle by hosting the quarantine facility, this trust is not mutual when it comes to the specialised medical human resources. The Kenyan or East African doctors and nurses should have been trusted with the care and treatment of the suspected or infected US citizens. As much as each state protects its citizens in such situations, the intended facility is not in good faith.

The leaders of the African nations must stand firm when such demands with inducements come. The right decisions have to be made using the right channels.

This matter involves serious ethical issues that need the involvement of more than the Head of State and the Cabinet secretaries. Just as we have the regulatory bodies in matters of research, clinical trials, or vaccines, the current matter carries ethical concerns that need ethical experts on board.

Neocolonialism has been perpetuated by both the current and former regimes. Are the African nations really sovereign? Why do we want to sell the health of the citizens through economic or infrastructural support? The historical injustices committed against humanity and the African race continue to unfold even today.

When one political leader consents to unethical and risky interventions and activities, they do so against the communal consent of all people. This erodes the trust bestowed upon them. I suggest that the intended funds for developing the centre be used without any unethical conditions.

Let us stand up and fight this discrimination, which comes in the name of economic benefits, which may end up in the hands of a few people while risking the entire people and selling their dignity.