NHRC notice to centre over illegal clinical trials

New Delhi, Feb 7 (IANS) The National Human Rights Commission Thursday issued notice to the union ministry of health and family welfare over the alleged clinical drug trials on 3,479 children in the last five years in three government hospitals in Delhi.

“We have asked the secretary, health ministry, to reply in four weeks,” an official said.

While in Safdarjung Hospital the drug trial was conducted on 2,056 children, Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital conducted the tests on 1,023 children.

In Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital, 400 children underwent such tests.

“The complainant, R.H. Bansal, a representative of an NGO, in his petition to the NHRC, claimed that he got the information about the number of children subjected to clinical trials under RTI (an application submitted through the Right to Information Act, 2005)” said an NHRC statement.

“He also alleged that parents’ approval was not taken for subjecting the children to clinical trials, which is an illegal and punishable act. The clinical drug trials also violated the human rights of innocent children,” it added.

IANS 2013-02-07 20:52:24