The Monrovia-based HCSJ participated in the Global Forum on Bioethics in Research in Cape Town.

Organized by NGOs “Welcome Trust” and the “South Africa Medical Research Council”, the Global Forum on Health Research Ethics held its annual meeting on 13 and 14 November in Cape Town, South Africa, bringing together more than 90 participants from over 36 nationalities.

They all share a core interest: the ethical aspects of research conducted in low- and middle-income nations. Their goal is to discuss and find solutions to ethical problems in the sharing of data and samples (BioBank) between institutions in different countries. They promote an open global dialogue on how to address challenges and seize opportunities for ethical and equitable data sharing, and establish a global collaborative network to provide an ethical response to health emergency situations.

This year, the activity focused on the ethical aspects of data sharing (“data sharing”) and biobanks in health research, a relevant topic for maximizing the use of data from research involving human beings, but which has significant ethical challenges, especially those related to ensuring that these collaborative practices are equitable and fair for all participants.

One of the presentations that generated the most interest was the case study “Rumors and fear regarding the creation of Biobanks of biological samples in Liberia”, led by Mandella King, Emergency Department Coordinator at St. Joseph Catholic Hospital (SCHJH) in Monrovia, and member of the research team of the IGORCADIA project (Barcelona Institute for Global Health).

The Hospital actively participated in discussion groups on the challenges faced in data sharing, including respect for study participants, ethical approval from the community, and the development of legislation regulating the existence of biobanks for biological samples. Some of the challenges discussed included the lack of establishment of quality storage systems, traditional beliefs specific to each territory, the use and manipulation of data by developed countries, and the management of the results and benefits of sample storage. 

By: Cristina Muñoz, IGORCADIA coordinator in Monrovia.

More information: www.igorcadia.org

Project: Improving the governance and research capacity of the Liberia Drug and Health Products Regulatory Authority (IGORCADIA) in infectious disease diagnostics.

Project: Improved Governance and Research Capacities in Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases of the Liberian Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority

The EDCTP2 program is supported under Horizon 2020, the European Union's Framework Program for Research and Innovation