Monday, January 26, 2026-A top African health leader has sharply criticized a controversial U.S.-backed vaccine study in West Africa, accusing the Trump administration of overstepping ethical boundaries and risking the health of vulnerable newborns.
The study, funded with roughly $1.6 million and promoted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., would involve vaccinating some infants against hepatitis B while withholding the widely recommended vaccine from others a practice many public health experts have labeled unethical given the high prevalence of the disease in the region. African health authorities argue that intentionally exposing infants to an inferior vaccination schedule amounts to unacceptable experimentation without proper safeguards or local consent.
Officials from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have pushed back strongly, asserting that no foreign government or agency has the right to impose experiments on African populations without full national approval.
The Africa CDC clarified that any clinical trial must secure written authorization from Guinea‑Bissau’s National Medicines Regulatory Authority, ethical clearance from its National Ethics Committee, and local institutional approval requirements designed to protect participant welfare and respect national sovereignty. According to Africa CDC leadership, these procedures are non‑negotiable and rooted in continental public-health standards.
The dispute has ignited broader concern across African public-health circles about shifting U.S. global health priorities under the Trump administration and the potential erosion of ethical norms in international research. Critics warn that pushing ahead without strict adherence to ethical review and community consent could damage trust in vaccines and undermine health systems already strained by ongoing disease burdens.
With the ethical review now underway and national authorities taking a closer look at the proposed trial, the situation remains fluid but the message from African health leaders is clear: research in Africa must be led by African priorities and safeguarded by rigorous, transparent standards.
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