Mozambican Ethics Committee Members Participate in Ethics Practicum at VUMC

2017 Vanderbilt University-Mozambique Collaborative Research Ethics Education Program Participants

 

The Institute for Global Health hosted visitors from Mozambique in May as part of the Fogarty-funded Vanderbilt University-Mozambique Collaborative Research Ethics Education Program (Formação Colaborativa em Ética na Pesquisa, FoCEP). Eight participants representing five of Mozambique’s eight research ethics committees (RECs) from around the country participated in a three-week practicum on research ethics and protocol review.

Participants took part in discussions of cases and international policy, and drafted guidelines for future policy in Mozambique. In addition, while here they developed an 11 module curriculum on research ethics in both English and Portuguese language for members of new ethics committees that may develop in the future and for researchers at Mozambique´s various Academic Institutions.

FoCEP is co-directed by Troy Moon, M.D., M.P.H.  of the VUMC Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and the Institute for Global Health and Elizabeth Heitman, Ph.D., from the University of Texas Southwestern as part of the Fogarty International Center’s program on international research ethics education and curricular development. FoCEP’s goal is to foster global health researchers from Mozambique in the ethical review of human participant research and the responsible conduct of research (RCR). This program aims to strengthen the development and institutionalization of a system for ethical review of human research protocols in Mozambique’s biomedical research institutions and newly developed RECs.

Participants pictured left to right: Eric Meslin, Ph.D., Indiana University Center for Bioethics Sergio Chicumbe, M.D., National Institute of Health-Mozambique João Schwalbach, M.D., National Committee for Bioethics in Health-Mozambique Jahit Sacarlal, M.P.H., Ph.D., Eduardo Mondlane University Maria Acácia Ernesto Lourenço, Ph.D., Provincial Hospital Quelimane-Zambézia Camilo F. Cuna, Ph.D., Lúrio University Esperanca Sevene, M.D., Eduardo Mondlane University Troy Moon, M.D., M.P.H., Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health Elizabeth Heitman, Ph.D. Vanderbilt Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society Lázaro González Calvo, Ph.D., Friends in Global Health Guida de Miranda Rui Januário, Lúrio University Sonia Enosse Ph.D., National Institute of Health-Mozambique Mohsin Sidat, M.D., Ph.D, Eduardo Mondlane University Fatima Cuembelo, M.D., Eduardo Mondlane University Sergio Litewka, M.D., M.P.H., University of Miami Bioethics Programs Holly Cassell, M.P.H., Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health