ECA brings a group of experts together to further drive the development of guidelines for health research in Africa
AFROGuide

ECA Press Release No. 37/2008

Addis Ababa, 25 November 2008 – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Good Clinical Practice Alliance – Europe, brought together about 25 health researchers, professors, experts from Africa and Europe to launch the process of developing guidelines for health research in Africa - AFROguide.

The expert group meeting was held in the presence of the Director of the ICT, Science and Technology Division (ISTD), Ms. Aida Opoku-Mensah, the Executive Director of Good Clinical Practice Alliance – Europe, Mr. Francis P. Crawley, and the ICT Senior Policy Officer of the Human Resources, Science and Technology Department of the African Union Commission, Mr. Esam M. Abulkhirat at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) from 25-26 November 2008

This meeting was a follow-up activity to the conference on “Science with Africa” held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 3-7 March 2008 to promote the use of science, technology and innovation for African development, and organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC), other UN agencies and partners.During this conference there were calls for establishing commonly accepted African and international standards for research promotion and human subjects protections. This necessitated the need for the African continent to develop its own guidelines for ethics and Good Clinical Practice for the development of investment and outcomes in African health needs, among other considerations.

Ms. Aida Opoku-Mensah opened the meeting by reiterating key issues. She said, "We need political will from African leaders who require support from health research experts and African communities for developing the relevant legal, regulatory, and practical guidance to promote health research and the protection of human subjects involved in health research".

Mr. Esam M. Abulkhirat responded by saying, “We are trying to mobilize the political will at the continental level. In the next couple of weeks we will have a meeting in Abuja , Nigeria for the African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology - AMCOST”.

Mr. Francis P. Crawley then presented the project goal of AFROguide, including the creation of an African model law, adopted by the General Assembly of the African Union to strengthen legal and regulatory systems for health research on the continent. He also outlined the need to develop a comprehensive dataset, the inclusion of stakeholder support, and the drafting of guidelines together with experts from African countries.

Agreed upon steps to be taken by Afroguide experts and stakeholders under the auspices of ECA to achieve their goals are: raising the necessary resources for the project; networking to provide for essential capacity building and ensure cross-fertilization and impact across all regions and sectors of African communities; and an implementation strategy for model laws, policies and practices at the continental, regional, national, and local levels.

Issued by the ECA Information and Communication Service
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