The South African Research Ethics Training Initiative (SARETI) is the oldest and most established African-based Masters program in the field of health research ethics. The program equips African public health professionals with the education and practical experiences needed to provide sound ethics review of the increasingly numerous and complex health studies taking place in Africa. Since SARETI started in 2003 we have graduated 9 Masters (with 11 approaching completion); one PhD and 17 non-degree fellows; and are now applying for a third cycle of Fogarty funding to enroll a further 19 Masters students.