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Review of Bioethics Education in Bangladesh

Prof. Shamima Parvin Lasker, Professor of Anatomy, City Dental College, Dhaka. 

Arif Hossain, PhD fellow, Washington University, USA

Email: splasker04@yahoo.com

A survey has been carried out from 1st November to 30th December 2008 in different institutes of Dhaka City to 
evaluate the current status of bioethics education in science in Bangladesh under the auspices of United Nations 
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Dhaka. People face dilemma with advancing science 
and technology along with enormous health  and environmental  problems.  Bioethics  may make bridge  between 
science, technology, social, cultural and spiritual values. 

There is huge gap in teaching of ethics in undergraduate level. Moreover, demand for health research in this country 
is constantly increasing and international collaboration is growing rapidly in Bangladesh. Recently each faculty try 
to establish own ethical review committee.  Although there are a few training programmes on research ethics has 
been conducted but these are still not enough to meet the growing need for research and an ethical review process. 

Increasing  awareness,  sensitivity,  research  and  practice  of  bioethics  in  various  disciplines  of  medical  science, 
science and social sciences are required. Ethical problem can not be resolved if not first noticeable. Thus bioethics 
education / activity is essential in Bangladesh. Governments can create a national bioethics commissions by which 
they can bridge on issues of both scientific and moral complexity in health, science, environment and social science.

Environmental Pollution 

Dr Khandaker Rashedul Haque, Director General, Academy for Planning & Development, Ministry of Planning 

Email: rashedul.haque@yahoo.com

Protection of environment through enforcement of environmental law in Bangladesh is a real challenge; especially 
for those who are mandated to do it. 

This is really a defining moment for government, whose priority for development is driven by decisions to balance 
pressure groups and environmental activists, as well as for the officials, who are very often in between two fires 
because of baffling instructions from the government.

It requires high amount of moral courage for the government official to be ready to take challenge to fight for the 
environment, even sometimes risking career. Along with that is the temptation in more than one form that comes 
through tantalizingly.  

The businessmen whose industries and plants need to be run in compliance with the obligation they need to fulfill do 
make commitment only to  be broken in the process  making the life  of  the officials  all  the more difficult  and 
challenging, especially these people have high clouts in the society to buy decision in their favour.

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mailto:rashedul.haque@yahoo.com
mailto:splasker04@yahoo.com


Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2010; 1(1):5

However,  it’s not only enforcement;  there need to be strong collaboration between the officials enforcing legal 
provisions  and  the  business  community  as  well  as  other  stakeholders  who are  ever  vigilant  to  see  sustainable 
development. The element of reciprocity and complementarity needs to be in place towards ensuring appropriate 
environment for sustainable development. 

Above all, it’s the leadership of the officials who make the difference in the enforcement of environmental law in 
the country by sheer courage and steadfastness in decision-making and implementation.

Ethics of Energy Technologies

Prof.  Darryl  Macer,  Ph.D.,  Regional  Adviser  for  Social  and Human Sciences  in  Asia and Pacific,  RUSHSAP, 
UNESCO Bangkok

Email: d.macer@unesco.org

The Regional  Unit  in Social  and Human Sciences  in Asia and the Pacific  (RUSHSAP) at  UNESCO Bangkok 
launched  the  Ethics  of  Energy  Technologies  in  Asia  and  the  Pacific  Project  in  September  2007.  The  launch 
conference was held also with the cooperation of the Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Science and Technology of 
Thailand. A full report of that conference is available on the web, as well as the abstracts of the three day meeting,  
attended by a hundred people from about 20 countries from many sectors and backgrounds. Since then there have 
been  a  number  of  subsequent  conferences  and  working  group  sessions organized  in  different  countries,  and  a 
summary of these will be presented.

Following on from that conference fourteen working groups have been formed on the following topics (more details 
appear in the project introduction document) [http://www.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=energyethics]:

• Universalism and environmental values
• Ethical worldviews of nature
• Visions and hopes of the future
• Representation and who decides
• Community engagement
• Stakeholder responsibilities
• Energy equity and human security
• Cost-benefit analysis and economic constructions
• Adoption & development of energy technologies (state of the art review)
• Ethical frameworks for research agendas and policy
• Educational frameworks for environmental ethics
• Nuclear dialogues
• Energy flow, environment, and ethical implications of meat production
• Water ethics and water resource management

The aim of the working groups is to develop dialogue around these particular issues with a focus on environmental 
ethics and human security. Each group will produce a report with policy options that can be used by policy makers, 
philosophers, scientists and researchers to consider the ethical dimensions of energy policy. All can follow the report 
development through the individual websites. The reports will also feed into the COMEST considerations on the 
ethics of climate change. There are approximately 200 persons who are currently members of the working groups, 
from young and old, many disciplines, professions and country. This overview will introduce some of the working 
group results, and progress. More members are invited to join.

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http://www.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=energyethics

