Lancet editorial: 'Science at WHO and UNICEF: the corrosion of trust'
Health research for development is dependent on cooperation and trust
among international agencies, the health research community, publishers
and other stakeholders. According to an editorial in this week's Lancet
[1], WHO and UNICEF are "appearing to manipulate science, breach trust...
and reject accountability". They are "willing to play fast and loose with
scientific findings in order to further their own institutional
interests".
The charge is based on press releases from WHO and UNICEF, respectively,
that pre-empted the publication of two important papers in the current
issue of The Lancet.
The first Lancet paper, by Greg Fegan et al [2], reports the success of an
expanded insecticide-treated bednet programme in Kenya: "The full paper
reveals the strengths and limitations of the study, and provides important
estimates of uncertainty. No such statistical caution was expressed in the
WHO statement [3] about these data, released on Aug 16."
Furthermore, the editorial suggests a breach of trust by WHO: "In early
August, the Kenyan team and WHO exchanged views about the results of this
trial 'on a confidential basis'. The investigators expected Ministry
officials to disseminate their findings. But the scientific team planned
to remain silent until their data had acquired the 'legitimacy' of
publication. They had WHO's agreement to do the same. But WHO broke its
promise. The agency released a confident press statement without even
having the courtesy to inform the Kenyan scientists of their plans."
The second paper, by Chris Murray et al [4], reports a decrease in child
mortality to 9.7 million deaths per year, but its sobering analysis
concludes that 'globally, we are not doing a better job of reducing child
mortality now than we were three decades ago", and predicts that by 2015,
we shall have achieved only a 27% reduction in child mortality since 1990,
substantially less than the MDG4 target of 67%.
The Lancet says that on 4th September it had sent Murray's paper to UNICEF
for its comments. Six days later, "UNICEF contacted selected journalists
about 'a major public health success'. For the first time UNICEF strongly
publicised its claim that annual under-5 child deaths had fallen below 10
million." [5]
The Lancet concludes: "WHO and UNICEF are acting contrary to responsible
scientific norms that one would have expected UN technical agencies to
uphold. Worse, they risk inadvertently corroding their own long-term
credibility."
For those of us on HIF-net, the editorial raises a number of complex
questions about communication and collaboration among stakeholders, and a
more specific question about research communication: In what circumstances
is it acceptable to publish a press release prior to a related scholarly
publication?
The Lancet seems in no doubt: "When the data and their interpretation are
more complex than a press release can convey, the sensible approach is to
wait."
Neil Pakenham-Walsh
Co-moderator, HIF-net
[1]
[Ссылки доступны только зарегистрированным пользователям ]
[free access]
[2]
[Ссылки доступны только зарегистрированным пользователям ]
[free access]
[3] [Ссылки доступны только зарегистрированным пользователям ]
[free access]
[4]
[Ссылки доступны только зарегистрированным пользователям ]
[free access]
[5] [Ссылки доступны только зарегистрированным пользователям ] [free access]
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