UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid has vowed to fight against racial and gender bias found in medical equipment. In a piece published in The Sunday Times, the official also vowed to "close the chasms that the pandemic has exposed" and said the government will probe the matter, citing the disproportionate effect of the coronavirus pandemic on ethnic minorities.
"It is easy to look at a machine and assume that everyone's getting the same experience. But technologies are created and developed by people, and so bias, however inadvertent, can be an issue here too", Javid said. "So questions like who is writing the code, how a product is tested and who is sitting round the boardroom table are critical – especially when it comes to our health".
Britain's new Health Secretary Sajid Javid holds a face mask, as he leaves Downing Street in London, Britain, June 30, 2021
© REUTERS / Henry Nicholls
He additionally mentioned a recent paper on pulse oximeters (devices that monitor oxygen levels), which suggested that the devices are less precise when it comes to dark-skinned patients.
The secretary launched an independent review, adding that it will also inspect "other important biases such as gender bias", so "lifesaving technologies" such as MRI scanners can be made accessible to pregnant or breastfeeding women.