Nairobi — When beauties grace the catwalk, we stare in awe and admire creation at its best.

Only the technical teams concerned with the clothes modelled notice 'flaws' and critique accordingly.

The rest of humanity adopts the fashion from the catwalks and life goes on. In the same stride, when disease afflicts us, doctors tell us the drugs that best treat our ailment. Then, off to the chemist we go and life goes on.

In the complex world of research, some scientists use animals, especially those whose genes are related to humans, to model and test drugs for efficacy. The issues surrounding the use of animals are diverse.

They are usually emotive, controversial and the debate has reached a point where it is likely to polarise the gains made by those who work with animals for the betterment of human life. Kenya is a player in the debate.

The Institute of Primate Research (IPR), a Directorate of the National Museums of Kenya, is hosting an international workshop on the ethics of using primates in biomedical research. Evolutionary, primates are close to humans and most processes, including reproduction, are similar to a fault.

IPR uses non-human unendangered primate species, such as baboons and Vervet monkeys, for biomedical research. Primates are used as models for human diseases - baboon for human malaria and Vervet monkey for Kalazar. The baboon is also used in testing for the human bilharzia vaccine.

Pathogens - parasites, viruses or bacteria - that afflict humans are experimentally introduced into non-human primates and researchers monitor the disease progression or the effects of the vaccine. When a test vaccine or drug shows potential in preventing the disease, the researcher can recommend further clinical testing in humans.

Due to this, non-human primates are crucial in determining which new vaccines or drugs go for human trials. Researchers who support the use of non-human primates in biomedical research cite the successful production of the polio vaccine, that saved millions of children in Africa, and insulin, that allows diabetics to lead normal lives, as historic.

The gathering of scientists at IPR will address, among other issues, the welfare of animals used in research, ethics of using non-human primates and application of biomedical techniques. The legal, moral and social issues related to animal experimentation and how to maximise the extraction of life-saving data at minimal costs to animal welfare will also be discussed.

In Kenya, like the rest of Africa, the human struggle against poverty, disease and suffering often seem to supersede the need to be sensitive to the rights of animals. IPR works closely with the Kenya Wildlife Service to ensure a constant supply of research models and KWS addresses the conservation aspect of the animals used.

Animals hold the key to the cure or vaccine for diseases such as malaria and HIV/Aids, which have afflicted and incapacitated Africa for decades.

There is also the potential to deal with emerging medical issues such as reproductive disorders and diseases associated with infertility such as endometriosis in women (the presence of tissues from the uterus in other parts of the body).

Others are reproductive health issues and assisted reproduction, including in-vitro fertilisation, the so-called test tube baby system.

Recently, when a Kenyan doctor presented the first test tube baby, there was outpouring of support and condemnation for such work in equal measure, yet the need for such research clearly has a niche in the country.

Passionate scientists never tire to consistently point out that vaccines are powerful tools in the provision of health care. Although African scientists' views are not as extreme as those of South African President Thambo Mbeki who caused world uproar when he said poverty fuels Aids in the continent, they, too, are concerned: That poverty and poor health reduce productivity and life expectancy.

They argue, and logically so, that good health is a prerequisite to productivity and socio-economic development. As far as they are concerned, vaccination or immunisation is the biggest success story in the history of preventive medicine.

Whereas there are six vaccines that ensure children's health, the poorest in Africa cannot access them and thus are the most vulnerable to disease. In more developed nations, children benefit from five more vaccines than the recommended six.

IPR has made efforts to deal with programmes related to diseases that affect our part of the world such as malaria, bilharzia and HIV-Aids.

As the scientists exchange ideas this week, the debate on the use of animals for research should take a balanced view, giving the survival of the African child priority in spite of the numerous challenges that will be pointed out.

The writer is a curator at the Karen Blixen Museum