Free Webinar on Lessons Learned by Ethics and Regulatory Bodies During Covid-19: Experience Sharing Between Liberia and Ghana – Wednesday 1st June 2022 10:00am GMT

ZOOM: https://bit.ly/3lQCiGS

Webinar-AgendaDownload

Background

The CoVID-19 pandemic, like other public health emergencies (PHEs), has shifted the goalposts regarding the operations and functions of ethical and regulatory activities. This is particularly true considering the need for ethics and regulatory preparedness to deal with a broad spectrum of issues related to a surge in research activities focusing on the current pandemic. Indeed, as already noted during the Ebola epidemic, there is a significant increase in clinical research related on Covid-19 in the region.

Therefore, the ethical and regulatory bodies are gradually and incrementally adapting or remodelling to cope with the changing paradigm and acceptable global strategies for the review and approval of applications for clinical trials and investigational products, among others. These changes, such as online application submission, virtual vs. hybrid vs. in-person reviews, revisions of guidelines and SOPs for PHEs, data sharing, diverse designs for investigational products, and changes in membership compositions, must be fostered, maintained and sustained based on the highest ethical and regulatory standards. 

Objectives

The objective of the webinar is to share ethical and regulatory related experiences, including challenges and opportunities, facilitate knowledge exchange, and strengthen multi-countries collaborations, for the review, approval and oversight of clinical research related activities during PHEs.  

10
Apr, 2022

LiberHetica Team participation to “Research for the response to Covid-19” Sub-Saharan Africa high-level meeting involving 200 experts from 16 countries.

Yamoussoukro, the political capital of Ivory Coast hosted from March 17 to 19, 2022, the 5th annual conference of the West African Consortium for Clinical Research on Epidemic Pathogens (WAC-CREP). 

This high-level meeting, which had the theme « Research for the response to Covid-19 in West Africa », brought together 200 experts from 16 countries. In addition to WAC-CREP member countries, namely Mali, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, other countries such as Senegal, Burkina, Mauritania, Gambia, Togo, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, England, the United States of America (USA) were also represented.

During four days, experiences and expertise were shared, 153 scientific communications (123 oral communications and 30 posters) were presented, including oral communications LiberHetica Team.

LiberHetica had also opportunities of multisector, multidisciplinary and multistakeholders meetings, aimed at strengthening relationships and develop south-south and north-south sub-regional collaborations in the context of African clinical research, ethics, regulatory and health systems preparadness to global health crisis.

5
Apr, 2022

Research Ethics Training Manual: Protecting Participants in Liberia

The National Research Ethics Board (NREB), The University of Liberia- Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation Institutional Review Board (UL-PIRE IRB), The R-Evolution Worldwide (R-Evo WW), based in United Kingdom, in partnership with the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) under the LiberHetica Project, have been involved in strengthening capacity building in Research Ethics and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) in the review of clinical and social science research protocols in Liberia.

One of the critical gaps in in research ethics education was the require tools and manual needed to conduct such training for university students and research.

In this direction, the LiberHetica project had developed a National Training Manual for Research Ethics Education which was validated on February 10, 2022 by stakeholders at the Corina Hotel (Monrovia -LIBERIA) that included the Ministry of Health, the University of Liberia, AME University, United Methodist University, Stella Maris Polytechnic University, Carter Center, Africabio, UMU, Starz University, and the National Public Health Institute of Liberia. This Manuel will be the very first curriculum developed for research ethics education in Liberia.

Research produces new information that can improve health, services, and products. Review and monitoring of research studies in Liberia can be challenging because of limited human, financial, logistics and material resources. However, it is rewarding to ensure that humans participating in all forms of research are protected, and researchers are trained in research ethics and human participants’ protection. For this reason, the UL-PIRE IRB and NREB have produced this training manual, under the LiberHetica project, for research ethics in Liberia, in the context also in the context of Research Ethics Education Dissemination rollout plan for Emergencies preparedness during disease outbreak for the management of Ethical Issues.

The NREB as the advisory institution responsibly to regulate all research ethics activities in Liberia, has embark on institution capacity strengthening in research ethics to create an awareness within our community as a first line when striving to protect the participation of people that are enrolled in research studies. Research studies could include student thesis that involve humans, national census, demographic and health survey, etc.

The NREB wants to create these awareness and strengthen research ethics at universities and institutions in Liberia that conduct studies on human subjects. Before we can do this, we need to assess the capacities of these institutions through capacity and institution strengthening through dissemination.

4
Jan, 2022

Free Symposium: THE ETHICS OF GENOMIC RESEARCH IN LIBERIA: CHALLENGES, PROSPECTS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

To join on Wednesday 5 January 2022 from 12pm to 2pm GMT in this free hybrid symposium (in person + virtual attending), please click on the following Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/5444292549?pwd=WnZSQ0pLQVVudGRaK0R4TENyd1FHZz09.

To join in person: UL-PIRE AFRICA CENTER CONFERENCE ROOM, UNIVERSITY OF LIBERIA, MONROVIA, LIBERIA.

23
Aug, 2021

Research Ethics Education Dissemination Rollout Plan for Emergencies Preparedness during Disease Outbreaks for the Management of Ethical Issues.

The National Research Ethics Board (NREB), in partnership with the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) under the LiberHetica Project, conducted on 13th August 2021 a One-day Research Ethics Education Dissemination rollout Plan for Emergencies Preparedness during Disease outbreaks for the Management of Ethical Issues.

The NREB, as the national advisory institution responsible to regulate research ethics related activities in Liberia, has embarked on supporting institutional capacity strengthening framework in research ethics to create an awareness within our communities and to strive to protect the the people participating in research studies.

The NREB wants to create this awareness and strengthens the framework for research ethics at universities and institutions in Liberia that conduct studies on human subjects. Before we can engage in the proposed activities, we need to assess the capacities of the designated institutions through a capacity and institutional strengthening framework for the protection of human subjects.

16
Dec, 2020

LiberHetica and TRREE meet

Although one in Africa and the other in Europe, their common passion for ethics of health research involving humans has led them to get to know each other: they are Jemee Tegli (Coordinator in Liberia of the UL-PIRE-IRB and Coordinator also of the EDCTP-funded project LiberEthica) and Prof. Dominique Sprumont (Founder of Institute of Health Law, University of Neuchatel, Switzerland and Coordinator of TRREE).

Their discussions will certainly succeed in strengthening the collaborations between Africa and Europe so that research meets highest standards of ethics and promotes the welfare of participants.

TRREE stands for Training and Resources in Research Ethics Evaluation, and is headed by a consortium of interested persons from Northern and Southern countries. It aims to provide basic training, while building capacities, on the ethics of health research involving humans.

7
Dec, 2020

LiberHetica Coordinator invited by the EUREC to attend their Annual Meeting.

We are proud to have had Jemee Tegli, LiberHetica project and UL-PIRE-IRB Coordinator, invited by the European Network of Research Ethics Committees – EUREC to attend their Annual Meeting. The meeting was well attended by over 30 representatives from across the EU, and Jemee Tegli, the only representative from Africa, gave a presentation about the LiberHetica project, to which followed a questions and answers session.

EUREC is a network that brings together already existing national Research Ethics Committees (RECs) associations, networks or comparable initiatives on the European level. The network promotes capacity building and assistance for local RECs to cooperate in the EU European Research Area. As an umbrella organization the network interlinks European RECs with other bodies relevant in the field of research involving human participants like the European Commission’s ethical review system and the European Medical Association (EMA). EUREC cooperates with organizations that support research ethics. 

2
Dec, 2020

Workshop on Research Ethics During Epidemics

Proud to have Jemee Tegli (Project Coordinator of LiberHetica and UL-PIRE-IRB Coordinator) as speaker of the 2-days workshop on Research Ethics During Epidemics (2-3 December 2020), organized by PANDORA-id-NET, TESA and ALERRT, in collaboration with The Global Health Network TGHN.

The workshop informed the participants about some of the ethical challenges in conducting this research, covering 5 broad topics: Ethics of research in vulnerable populations, Community and stakeholder engagement, Informed consent in epidemic research, Biobanking during epidemics and Ethics review during epidemics.