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Project Topic
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The main objective of LusoAfro-BioEthics is to strengthen capacity for health research ethics review in African Lusophone Countries (ALC). More specifically this action aims to: - Improve institutional and personnel capacities of three African Lusophone Countries Research Ethics Committees; - Enhance the efficiency of clinical/health research applications reviews; - Promote collaborative/ networking activities in research ethics in Lusophone Countries; - Share good practices on Standard Operation Procedures, Protocol Review and international regulatory ethical and legal norms and standards and to promote the establishment of the University of Cape Verde Institutional Review Board. In order to attain these objectives the following activities have been developed so far: 1. LusoAfro-Bioethics– 1st Steering Committee Meeting, 23 April 2018, Lisboa, Portugal The 1st Steering Committee Meeting of LusoAfro-Bioethics Project was held at the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (IHMT-UNL), in Lisbon, Portugal. All partners were present to review the Project’s Workplan and to discuss each of the proposed activities and refine its implementation schedule. This project includes four training workshops to be held in the following year in Angola, Mozambique and Cabo Verde. 2. LusoAfro-BioEthics presentation at the Ninth EDCTP Forum 2018, 19 September 2018, Portugal The “Ninth EDCTP Forum 2018” (www.edctpforum2018.org) was held from 17 to 21 September at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon. The LusoAfro-BioEthics Project had a strong presence at this event, with Dr. Rassul Nalá of the Mozambique National Bioethics Committee for Health, presenting ”An Overview of Research Ethics Committees Operating in Lusophone African Countries “, as part of a parallel session under the theme of “Ethics, Regulation and Pharmacovigilance “. Professor Maria do Rosário Oliveira Martins , the IHMT-UNL Deputy Director, was a member of the Forum’s Scientific Committee and moderated the Ethics and Regulatory session. The second Steering Committee Meeting was also conducted during this event. 3. LusoAfro-BioEthics official and public launch, 23 November 2018, Maputo, Mozambique The public launch of the project “LusoAfro-BioEthics – Strengthening Bioethics Committees in Lusophone African Region” was held on 23 November 2018 at MISAU (Mozambique MoH) in Maputo. This project is the result of a Partnership funded by EDCTP. The ceremony was headed by the Vice-Minister of Health, PhD João Leopoldo da Costa. Participants in this event were members of the Mozambique National Bioethics Committee and members of the eight Mozambique institutional committees, IHMT-NOVA Deputy Director, researchers from UniCV (Cabo Verde) and UAN (Angola), Deputy National Directors of the Ministry of Health,. The event was also in the media, namely in TVM (Mozambique National Television), RTP Africa (Portuguese Television) at the program Reporter Africa. 4. Launch of self-assessment survey in Research Ethics Committees(RECs), January 2019 This self-administered survey tool was already developed and tested in other African RECs and is being currently used to collect information that will provide more in-depth information about RECs particular needs, like assessing training needs to both REC members and health researchers in general. 5. Technical Workshop 1: Bioethics on Health Research, 11-12 March 2019, Luanda, Angola The National Bioethics Committee for Health of Mozambique and the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of Portugal organised the Bioethics Course in Health Research, which took place from 11-12 March 2019 in the City of Luanda, Republic of Angola. This short-term training workshop had 17 participants and covered the following topics: (1) History of Bioethics; (2) Bioethics Standards, (3) Protocol Review: and (4) Follow-up to Protocols. The trainers from Mozambique were João Schwalbach, Kháthia Munguambe, Jahit Sacarlal, Sergio Chicumbe and from Portugal, Helena Melo. 6. Technical Workshop 2: Bioethics on Health Research, 14-15 March 2019, Praia, Cabo Verde The University of Cape Verde together with the National Bioethics Committee for Health of Mozambique and the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of Portugal organised the Bioethics Course in Health Research, which took place from 14-15 March 2019 in the City of Praia, Republic of Cabo Verde. This short-term training workshop had 28 participants and covered the following topics: (1) History of Bioethics; (2) Standards, (3) Protocol Review: and (4) Follow-up to Protocols. There were also two conferences opened to the public: Pre-Course Conference about “Ethics in Health Research” by Prof. Esperança Sevene and a Post-Course Conference about “Human Reproductive Cloning and Genomic Edition” by Prof. Helena Melo. The trainers from Mozambique were João Schwalbach, Esperança Sevene, Rassul Nalá, Gerito Augusto and from Portugal, Maria do Rosário Martins, Helena Melo. 7. LusoAfro-BioEthics presentation at the 8th Annual ARESA Research Ethics Seminar, 4-5 April 2019, Cape Town, South Africa Prof. Esperança Sevene, from Universidade Eduardo Mondlane/Mozambique National Bioethics Committee and Dr Kizito Gondo from Mozambique National Bioethics Committee, participated in the 8th Annual ARESA Research Ethics Seminar, 4-5 April 2019, Cape Town, and presented the work “Research Ethics Overview in Lusophone Countries in Africa” during a Plenary Session focused on Research Ethics Committees (REC) Challenges on the African Continent. 8. LusoAfro-BioEthics public Website: www.lusoafro-bioethics.org
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