Global justice and health systems research in low- and middle-income countries

[Extract] More than a decade ago, Solomon Benatar and Peter Singer argued that “a new, proactive research ethics…must ultimately be concerned with reducing inequities in global health and achieving justice in health research and health care.” Towards this objective, a limited amount of recent scholarship has started to consider whether a theoretical basis exists for the position that international research should help promote global health equity and, if so, what the implications are for its conduct. Theories of justice from political philosophy establish obligations for parties in high-income countries to improve the health of parties in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). These theories have been shown to provide grounds for the claim that international research should be conducted to advance justice in global health. What this means for research actors from high-income countries is the focus of a recently proposed ethical framework: “research for health justice.”