Ethical framework for global human microbiome research advocates co-laboration to address Western bias (link.springer.com)

• 71% of microbiome samples come from Europe/US/Canada; South Asia only 1.8%
• 79.8% of articles on African microbiomes lack African first/last author
• Co-laboration proposed: radical interdisciplinary and intercultural collaboration

"This correspondence article discusses the dominance of European and North American populations in human microbiome research, which creates bias and perpetuates inequities. It identifies three concerns: sample bias, lack of community participation, and inequitable inclusion of Global South researchers. It proposes 'co-laboration' – radical interdisciplinary and intercultural collaboration – as a remedy, and provides a programmatic list for ethical practice. The article cites that 71% of microbiome samples come from Europe, US, and Canada, while underrepresented regions like South Asia have only 1.8% of samples despite 26% of world population."