Gambling with COVID-19 Makes More Sense: Ethical and Practical Challenges in COVID-19 Responses in Communalistic Resource-Limited Africa – Eunice Kamaara & Ross Upshur

JBI Dialogues

In this episode of JBI Dialogues, Professor Ross Upshur, one of the co editors of the journal's COVID-19 symposium, talks with Professor Eunice Kamaara about her paper "Gambling with COVID-19 makes more sense: ethical and practical challenges in COVID-19 responses in communalistic resource-limited Africa, co-authored with Dr David Nderitu. Eunice is Professor of African Christian Ethics at Moi University in Kenya with a doctorate in African Christian ethics and a Master's degree in international health research ethics. Ross is a physician and bioethicist and heads the division of clinical public health at the University of Toronto in Canada.

Article abstract: Informed by evidence from past studies and experiences with epidemics, an intervention combining quarantine, lockdowns, curfews, social distancing, and washing of hands has been adopted as “international best practice” in COVID-19 response. With massive total lockdowns complemented by electronic surveillance, China successfully controlled the pandemic in country within a few months. But would this work for Africa and other communalistic resource-poor settings where social togetherness translates to effective sharing of basic needs? What ethical and practical challenges would this pose? How would communalism be translated in special contexts to be useful in contributing to the ultimate common good? This paper uses examples from the current situation of COVID-19 in Kenya to address these questions.

Links

• The complete Journal of Bioethical Inquiry COVID-19 symposium
• Direct link to the #Free2Read articles discussed in the episode
  • Gambling with COVID-19 makes more sense: ethical and practical challenges in COVID-19 responses in communalistic resource-limited Africa, by David Nderitu and Eunice Kamaara
  • Learning Lessons from COVID-19 Requires Recognizing Moral Failures, by Maxwell Smith and Ross Upshur