A US appeals court has ruled that Nigerian families can sue Pfizer drugs, an American drug firm, for its alleged role in the deaths of Nigerian children. The company is accused of killing 11 children and injuring 181 others while testing an antibiotic intended to subdue a menengitis epedimic in 1996. The epedemic killed 12,000 Nigerian children in 6 months. Pfizer is alleged to have tested out the antibiotic on 200 ill children without the consent of their parents. It caused 11 deaths and caused blindness, deformities, and brain damage in others. Originally, the law suit was dismissed on the basis that it violated the Alien Tort Statue, a law alloing foreigners to sue in the US courts. But the Second Circuit US Court of Appeals in New York ruled that the statue could be used. Pfizer denies the allegations, and maintains that the tests were taken with government and parental consent.
In this article, aspects of globalization, medical care, and law processes in Nigeria are discussed. The US firm is providing the globalization aspect by supplying antibiotics in Nigeria, even though it did not turn out well. The medical difficulties plaguing Nigeria are discussed as well, with their menengitis outbreak, and the failure of the antiobiotic. The law processes are also discussed, explaining how the Nigerian people were able to sue the American firm.
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