Part 1
Again, read the attachment (above, part “B”). If you were the CEO of Merck and had to define the right decision with regard to a course of action, what would it be? That is, what is the RIGHT DECISION? (Note: Get creative. Think outside the box. Don’t limit yourself to black-and-white answers).
Again, references are not required for this week’s discussion, as it is opinion only. Please note that you should still have a fairly robust response, so posting only a few sentences will not be sufficient.
Part 2.
As you did last week, consider the responses of other students in the class. What makes sense? Can you improve on anyone’s idea(s)?
Part II Respond to this Post for Part 2: (M. Finnerman)
Given the current information, I would not make the decision to simply give the drug away. The drugs will need to be distributed in an orderly fashion so that people can be monitored, and the drugs can be administered properly. My concern, as I mentioned in the first part of this discussion, is that if the drugs fall into the wrong hands they will not reach the people for who the drug is intended for. We have seen this happen before in countries where aid is provided to a struggling country and the aid is taken by, usually by force, and distributed improperly and those that need it most are never helped or are exploited even further by those controlling the aid. The situation in Somalia in the early 1990’s come to mind; this resulted in US military intervention which went terribly bad. In this case, USAID was distributing aid packages intended for the sick and starving caught up in a civil war. What ended up happening was the rebels who were supposed to be distributing aid began to use it for their own benefit and started a black market created further problems.
In Merck’s case, finding an organization to assist in the distribution is critical to the success of this venture. At this point, they have gone too far to give up. According to the literature provided, WHO and USAID have both declined, along with the US government. Given the information at hand, the next step may be to appeal to foreign governments and take the issue to the world stage. Another alternative is to seek funding from the private sector, again this also involves creating awareness of the problem. I still believe that Merck has an ethical responsibility, even greater now that they know they have a cure, to find a way to safely and effectively distribute the cure to those affected. In today’s day and age with technology a Go Fund Me Page would get the ball rolling. On a more serious note, another organization to consider is Doctors without Borders and other like organizations that are made up of people from all over the world that are committed to helping people and countries in need. A key move would be to start raising awareness for this problem at the grassroots level.