Speaker notes case study

Slide 2: RIVER BLINDNESS

In the case of Merck and its solution to countering the River Blindness disease thriving in many portions of Africa, Middle East and South America, the ethical system at work is the cooperation between public and private organizations on the matter of eradicating said disease.

Slide 3: THE SOLUTION OF MERCK

Merck has developed its own cure on River Blindness (also known as onchocerciasis) called Mectizan in order to help eradicate the adverse effects of the diseases on both the lives of people and the economy of the places where they reside.

Slide 4: THE SOLUTION OF MERCK

Slide 5: ALTERNATIVES TO THE MERCK MODEL
For the first alternative, devolution would entail the participation of the public sector as researchers of the problem at hand as per their localities. It differs from the present model involving Merck in that the public sector is the one looking for medical solutions based on the specific community needs involved and not a single private entity that would have the tendency to apply a one-size-fits-all approach.

Slide 6: ALTERNATIVES TO THE MERCK MODEL

The second alternative deviates from the natural consequence of community development featured by the solution introduced by Merck. With the public sector at helm again, there will be deliberate introduction of mechanisms that would develop communities instead of expecting such as a natural consequence of eradicating diseases through medical breakthroughs.

Slide 7: PROBLEM WITH ALTERNATIVES

However, a central problem to both alternatives compared to that spearheaded by Merck is the lack of immediate, direct and efficient action. Merck focused on finding a cure to River Blindness and such has caused a positive domino effect to affected communities in the form of repopulation and subsequent revival of economic activities in previously abandoned areas. On the other hand, emphasis on the role of the public sector could encounter problems through the absence of immediate action compared to the direct approach of private organizations. The heterogeneous nature of the roles espoused by public organizations may result to the overlooking of definite issues, which is best resolved under private organizations that could afford to devote specific focus on such. With that, it is recommendable to emulate the model set by Merck – fostering public-private cooperation with the private side leading the helm in attacking the problem.

Slide 7: VARIATIONS IN ALTERNATIVES

The aforementioned alternatives to the Merck model pertain to the role of public organizations as the dominant actors instituting change. Yet, those planning to institute such alternatives as remedial models may encounter deviations if they are working in other nations. A notable dangerous effect is the tendency of bias towards the standards set within the nations where the implementers reside. Whether or not international-type standards are involved, implementers may gain the inclination to implement the specified alternatives based on the standards of the nation where they are staying. Lack of physical presence and immersion in concerned areas may lead to the failure of the alternative solutions due to half-baked assessments and recommendations