HIV/AIDS & Children: Ethical Considerations

FOLUKE O. DADA DR., DISTRICT LAW CHAMBERS

Abstract

Children and orphans are of the vulnerable population and defined to be persons who have not attained the legal age of consent. Advocates of human research have long opined that research can be beneficial for the common good of the people especially when attempting to procure medical advancements that may otherwise have been unobtainable except by the use of human subjects. Children lack the requisite consent to treatments and procedures involved in research and many mothers in Sub Saharan Africa are particularly poor and lack formal education leaving them vulnerable to the disease of HIV/AIDS. This is more evident in the apparent inability of mothers to understand fully the disease and comply with treatment regimes that are involved in order to optimize the available resources within their immediate environment. This paper discusses the ethical issues involved in managing the complex issues involved in HIV/AIDS within sub- sahara Africa and whether ethics may be a ground to encourage governmental performance of legal obligations.