An expert panel on health research has called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop and disseminate guidelines on the establishment and strengthening of ethical review committees on health to countries in the African Region.

The call was made by the 15-member African Advisory Committee for Health Research and Development (AACHRD) which ended a four-day meeting at the weekend in Port Louis, Mauritius.

A report on the meeting released at the WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville Tuesday, said that the participants at the four-day meeting also called on WHO Member States in the Region to promote advocacy of bioethical issues at the highest levels and collaborate with development partners to facilitate the formation and strengthening ethical review bodies.

On research in traditional medicines, one of its main agenda items, the meeting called on WHO to: support Member States to implement resolutions regarding the development of health policies, legal frameworks and plans that would include increased allocation of resources to research and development in traditional medicine; support documentation of evidence on safety and efficacy of traditional medicines; and accelerate research and evaluation of traditional medicine through collaboration with research institutions.

The meeting recommended that WHO should help raise the profile of traditional medicine by helping to improve the generation, synthesis and dissemination of information on the subject and requested WHO Member States, in partnership with relevant public and private institutions, to encourage competencies to scale up production and commercialize their research products.

On mechanisms for promoting research in training institutions, the AACHRD meeting recommended that WHO should assist training institutions in developing good research culture and performance by, among other things, including health research components in their curricula and ensuring the existence of research management and coordination Units in such institutions.

On prospects for research in communicable diseases, the meeting called on WHO to: develop and disseminate guidelines on early detection and management of priority non-communicable diseases, and support countries in conducting situations analyses, setting research priorities, and enhancing sub-regional collaboration through counterpart funding v for non-communicable diseases.

The AACHRD, a multidisciplinary and mutlisectoral body, was established in 1979 to advise the Regional Director of WHO Regional Office for Africa on matters of health research polices and development strategies. 

For further information,

Samuel T. Ajibola
Public Information and Communication Unit 
P.O. Box 6, Brazzaville, Congo 
Tel: 1 321 95 39378 ; Fax: 1 321 95 39513