Potential benefits and harm of biotechnology in developing countries: the ethics and social dimensions

The world has experienced phenomenal growth in science and knowledge since the second-world war. Infectious disease conditions that were almost always fatal in the early 1900s are now being effectively treated with antibiotics and other modalities emanating from science and prevented through the general improvements in vaccination, nutrition, sanitation and availability of safe water to many more people. Biotechnology as one aspect of this growth in knowledge and practice has particular potential to enable the development and increased accessibility of rapid and efficient diagnostic, preventive and health promotion tools, restoration of water quality, soil and other natural resources. This has the potential to make our environment much safer and also agriculturally more productive. Development of new biotechnology, especially in medicine, is essentially the domain of developed nations, and in Africa, a few countries like South Africa, Kenya and Egypt are leading the way. In this paper, we discuss the risks and benefits of biotechnology especially regarding human health in developing countries. We have drawn significantly from the ethical tenets of beneficence, autonomy of individuals, fairness or justice and informed consent.