Continued from yesterdayFor 16 years, the parents and guardians of some of the children maimed or killed during the Pfizer Incorporated-sponsored Trovan drug trial for the treatment of the ravaging meningitis in Kano, have waited to claim compensation for their wards. But a DNA test ordered by the administrators of the fund to determine 'genuine' claimants from the long list of claimants is raking up fresh troubles that could again delay the payment that was started recently.ON the way out of the current quagmire, the leader of the Kano Trovan Victims Association (KTVA), Malam Mustapha Garba Maiskeli, canvassed the dissolution of the Healthcare Meningitis Trust Fund to be replaced by the attorneys representing his group and that of Pfizer on the one side, with representative of the Kano State and Federal Governments on the other side, to serve as witnesses to negotiate compensation for all members.The trust fund has kept to its words to compensate those adjudged through the screening process to have met the requirement for compensation.The trust fund has already paid out the sum of $700,000, approximately over N104 million to the parents of four dead children that participated in the drug trial.Each of the deceased, namely: Rabiu Isa, Ado Hussaini, Hauwa Umar and Usman Garba received the maximum of $175,000, each as final settlement for loss of life.Chairman of the Healthcare Meningitis Trust Fund, retired Justice Abubakar Bashir Wali disclosed that four others that incurred bodily harm during the trial have also been adjudged to be qualified for compensation based on the outcome of the first stage of the DNA test.At the event held at the Afficent Centre in Kano, Justice Wali further stated that his board has concluded the required medical tests as well as ascertained the percentage of medical disabilities, pains and suffering for surviving claimants.Thereafter, the board kept its promise when it eventually compensated four victims that incurred bodily harm during the Trovan clinical trials to the tune of $463,750.One of the victims, Shazali Inuwa, 22, who suffered from severe ear pains, got $148,750 while 23-year-old Rabi'u Isa, who has infirmities in his legs, received $122,500.Another victim, Rabi'u Zakari, 28, who also suffers from leg pains, got $105,000, with $87,500 going to 23-year-old Abubakar Ahmad Umar, who has mental disorder, allegedly caused by the clinical trials run by Pfizer.A fortnight ago, officials of the Trust Fund insisted that the fund would not compromise its position on the requirements that must be met to qualify claimants for monetary compensation.The fund expressed regrets over the refusal of six claimants to come forward to complete the process that would enable them collect their compensations.In a statement issued by the Executive Secretary of the Meningitis Trust Fund in Kano, David Odiwo, noted that despite repeated calls, the six qualified claimants have refused to come forward to be assessed for the purpose of payment of the compensation.The fund reiterated its desire to identify other qualified claimants in line with laid down rules that include: Study identification cards, photographs from the 1996 clinical study site that identify claimants, extent to which the claimants initials, age and gender match those in the 1996 study participants list released to the board by Pfizer incorporated.Other criteria include whether the claimants have any physical condition, characteristic, or any disability that matched those recorded in the files for such study participants released to the board by Pfizer Incorporated, and whether the claimant possesses any materials or objects that were provided to study participants or their families at the time of the 1996 exercise.Odiwo disclosed that the board would soon convene a donor meeting between the state government and Pfizer during which the board will update donors on the progress made during the second phase of the DNA qualifying process on the 192 applicants.He expressed appreciation to the claimants for their patience and cooperation, reiterating the board's commitment to completing the compensation process with integrity and in fair and transparent manner.It would be recalled that shortly after members of the TVF resolved their differences with the American-based drug maker earlier in the year, the team of forensic DNA scientists from Bode arrived Kano in April this year to conduct the DNA testing on the claimants in fulfillment of the conditions laid down by Kano State and Pfizer to identify and compensate genuine participants in the 1996 Trovan clinical study.Maiskeli had told The Guardian at the Lamido Crescent office of the Pfizer/Kano State Healthcare Meningitis Trust Fund at the time that the resolve by his members to subject themselves to the DNA test speaks volume of their renewed faith in the DNA test procedure.At the time, he explained that the decision by the Emir of Kano, Dr. Ado Bayero to substitute a member of the board of trustees who is the Jarman Kano, Prof. Isa Hashim with the District Head of Fagge was all that was required to reassure his members that all would be well with their interest in DNA verification process.The screening in April was the second time that the team of DNA experts came to Kano to conduct the exercise.Last year when the DNA specialists came to conduct the exercise, the process actually started without any hitches until the TVF suddenly opposed the idea of submitting themselves to the DNA test based on the fear that they could be short-changed in the end.The TVF subsequently filed a suit at a Federal High Court, Abuja and got an injunction restraining the Trust Fund to halt operation until the determination of the suit.The return of the DNA experts in April this year came after an out-of-court settlement, brokered by officials of the Kano State government led by Alhaji Aliyu Umar and representatives of Pfizer led by Anthony Idigbe (SAN) on behalf of members of the TVF and Pfizer, before Pfizer was permitted to go ahead with the DNA tests.Consequently, the court injunction was lifted, paving the way for genuine TVF claimants to be determined after samples collection aimed at matching it with the DNA record at the disposal of Pfizer's officials.The DNA testing was expected to establish the veracity of the claims and ensure the compensation of the 200 genuine participants or their beneficiaries as against the 547 persons that submitted forms to the Trust Fund.Pfizer officials insist that the DNA test is a proven scientific method, which is now the only means available to the Trust Fund of solving the mystery of the genuine 200 Trovan test participants from the unwieldy 547 claimants.The fund which boasts of representatives of the Kano Emirate Council, Dr. Musa Mohammed Borodo and Prof. Mu'uta Ibrahim, had insisted that participants who have nothing to hide must make themselves available for the screening exercise.Before the out-of-court settlement, there was the more fundamental out-of-court settlement deal between the Kano State and Federal Governments on behalf of the victims on the one hand, and Pfizer Incorporated on the other hand. In that deal, Pfizer had agreed to make available the sum of $75 million as compensation to be shared in the following order: $35 million to be shared by the victims, $30 million for the construction of a paediatric health facility in Kano, and the remaining $10 million as settlement for litigation fee.While work on the construction of the health facility has made significant progress, Pfizer justified the intervention by Bode, saying it was necessitated by the fact that several persons came up to partake in the sharing of monies meant for compensation.Operating one of the most internationally respected private DNA laboratories, Bode's forensic DNA experts have assisted in identifying criminals in every state in the United States (U.S.), as well as victims of war, terrorism, crime, and natural disasters, including the attack on the World Trade Centre, the war in Bosnia, and the remains of U.S. soldiers dating back to the Vietnam War.Bode which played an integral role in assisting with the identification efforts related to Hurricane Katrina, and new advances in extraction technologies that have led to the reopening of efforts to identify victims of the World Trade Centre has worked with 30 countries to provide DNA collection products, testing and training services.
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