The Racist Legacies of Western Medicine in Africa

Sgt. 1st Class Marites Cabreza, a nurse with 354th Civil Affairs Brigade, Special Functioning Team, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, tends to a patient March 29, 2008, during a medical civil action project in Goubetto, Djibouti. JEREMY T. LOCK

That African bodies have been used to test drugs intended for Western markets and consumers is not fiction or conspiracy; it is a historical fact. In many ways, COVID-19 calls into question how far we are today from the scientific ignorance of the past. The pandemic caught the world with remarkable pace, spreading in just five months to over 200 countries, and causing major disruptions to daily life in the vast majority of these. The novelty and contagiousness of COVID-19 have been compared t

Every year, The Republic publishes the most ambitious writing focused on Africa, from news and analysis to long-form features.

To continue reading this article, Subscribe or Register for a Free Pass.

Already a subscriber? Log in.