Ethics

In this section we are stepping back and considering the ethical implications of our innovation, the economics of the issue and motivations for all involved to contribute to former. That is the social responsibility that carries with knowledge and technology and how much altruism.

The financial responsibility and incentives that follow with that and lastly the considerations of proposing out imperfect solutions in order to alleviate suffering.

Social and human responsibility

We have the means, we have the technology. Let us show the way

We are privileged in Denmark, so privileged that we had a challenging time finding good problems to be solved. A part of that privilege is abundant and nuanced access to a what goes on around the world.We have ample tools and opportunity to enable us to solve an issue like this. To alleviate suffering - Even from the comforts of the University lab benches? We could not refuse the impact we could make. The impact of catalyzing innovation within such a new field, a field where there is potentially lives to be saved. Suffering to be alleviated.

We are aware that we are wandering into new frontiers. And that with it comes exploring the “new”, and that it with that comes the “unknown” and with the “unknown” is the the fear of it, of the unexpected. We argue that there is both a will and a way before us, and we know what they say about that.

The will is to alleviate suffering, to save lives The way; one way, is through the application of technology: If it was not for the application of we would have life expectancy significant below and mortalities significant higher than it is today. We create solutions for ourselves and others and that is one factor to what makes us great. We should keep that in mind when looking to future challenges, and to new frontiers. We have solutions and we should apply them accordingly, be it through synthetic biology or not.

In furtherance to that point, we address the issue regarding applying synthetic biology.

Technology, Synthetic biology and Safety

Taking our project into account, the application does not raise alarms. We are working with closed contained products without any living organisms. The parts we are using are safe. We are applying genetic modified organisms, GMOs, to produce the recombinant proteins going into the device, thereby preventing any exposure and release of dangerous unfavorable organisms.

However, even though our project is not utilising the most controversial tools of synthetic biology, there are still some important ethical aspects that have to be considered, and we are continuously aware of the power of technology and the responsibility that goes along with it.

We are not the only part involved. We consider two other skilled professions: The professional researcher and the doctor.

Flux of medical personnel and academic brainpower

There is a flux of competent doctors from rural areas. They move into the city where there is work and money to be made. Money to feed their families. This makes staying in a rural clinic a hard sell. What would the incentive to do so for a newly educated doctor from Ghana? Further, if inferior means of treatment, i.e no proper medical equipment or antivenom is present, would the cost of staying with his relatives in a rural city, inviting a harder life, be worth the lives he could potentially safe? How much hardship should he endure and would he be willing to accept until he, too takes the journey to an established medical practice in the city?

This means that the rural clinics are lacking competent medical personnel. The staff effectively consists of nurses that often lack the preliminary knowledge about venom treatment (Msuya et al., 2017).

Furthermore, when speaking to a post-doctoral fellow working within the field of bioinformatics and comparative venomics, we sensed an expressed frustration with searching funding of research related to snake venoms as it seems to be an uphill battle. That his family suffered in the process and that he never really had time-off. He missed being able to work a nine to five and have time off, when the clock five pm. When asked about if he felt he had a duty to work, he expressed that he had responsibilities to his family as well and also felt that he had served his duty, his “conscription”.

We should utilize the motivation of students enrolling into their education of these incentives. Solving and contributing to a better world. Both the doctor and the post-doc. raises important issues. The issue of financing.

Money, Money, Money

Who will fund this?

During public engagement activities we have been put to task by the question: “Who will fund this?”

The question is justified as it is glaringly apparent that the countries, nations, societies, tribes, families and the affected individuals have little to no funds to pay for such treatment. The countries have a very challenged health budget.

For this issue to be addressed properly and our solution to be feasible, some sort of financial backing is vital.

Let us look to Uganda as a case, a country in eastern central Africa. Its main export is coffee and 10% of the $91.212 billion economy is allocated to the health sector - With a population of 41.5 million people. This is 5% below the Abuja declaration, where heads of African states agreed to spend 15% of the GDP for health care.

The current funding of US$ 27 per capita per annum expenditure on health care is far below the US$ 44 per capita recommended. That is a health budget that is also needed for addressing Hepatitis A, Malaria, Rabies, Typhoid and Yellow Fever (Source)

This means that a course of antivenom, for a critical dose of envenoming by the commonly occurring Bitis gabonica snake will run up (based on Product: FAV-Afrique antivenin by Sanofi-Pasteur, France) 120$ a vial - and many venomous bites must be treated with more than one vial. This is above what most families earn in a whole year. (Source)

This is the raw cost of the most effective treatment. We only speculate on how a detection device will be prioritized.

While still appealing to the higher values of social responsibility. We also ask: Who says that is can not be good business. There are potential money to be made. A report from the businesscomission.org: Better business, better world report, the solving the UN SDGs, has been estimated to have an market opportunity of 12 trillion USD. The issue of snake envenoming related directly to Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being, secondary to goal 1, 2, 4, and 8: No poverty, zero Hunger, Quality Education and Decent work and economic growth, respectively. The goals are related in so far as the issue deliberate the families financially thus carrying further poverty, moe sacrifice preventing priorities to access to education. This all in all, prevents economic growth for the family and those that society at large that rely on their productivity.