Abstract:
Scientific interest in genomics in Africa is on the rise
with a number of funding initiatives aimed specifically at
supporting research in this area. Genomics research on
material of African origin raises a number of important
ethical issues. A prominent concern relates to sample
export, which is increasingly seen by researchers and
ethics committees across the continent as being
problematic. The concept of genomic sovereignty
proposes that unique patterns of genomic variation can
be found in human populations, and that these are
commercially, scientifically or symbolically valuable and
in need of protection against exploitation. Although it is
appealing as a response to increasing concerns
regarding sample export, there are a number of
important conceptual problems relating to the term. It is
not clear, for instance, whether it is appropriate that
ownership over human genomic samples should rest
with national governments. Furthermore, ethnic groups
in Africa are frequently spread across multiple nation
states, and protection offered in one state may not
prevent researchers from accessing the same group
elsewhere. Lastly, scientific evidence suggests that the
assumption that genomic data is unique for population
groups is false. Although the frequency with which
particular variants are found can differ between groups,
such genes or variants per se are not unique to any
population group. In this paper, the authors describe
these concerns in detail and argue that the concept of
genomic sovereignty alone may not be adequate to
protect the genetic resources of people of African
descent.
