This program will serve its mission to promote responsible research in DRC and in Francophone Africa by consolidating the Center Interdisciplinaire de Biothique pour l'Afrique Francophone (CIBAF) at the Kinshasa School of Public Health (KSPH) and by leveraging CIBAF's resources to enhance ethics capacity locally, regionally and internationally. University of North Carolina (UNC), Centre Interdisciplinaire Droit Ethique et Science de la Sante (CIDES, Belgium) and KSPH will strengthen the foundation of CIBAF's ongoing research, educational, consultation and network-building activities by broadening its current repertoire of research ethics, clinical ethics and public health ethics curricula; by offering and improving the newly established MPH at KSPH with concentration in bioethics; creating required research ethics modules for all KSPH students conducting research; strengthening skills of CIBAF members and affiliates in grant and manuscript writing, research design methodology and English. To expand ethics capacity regionally, workshops will be held Lubumbashi and Kisangani on clinical and research ethics; public health ethics; ethics committee capacity building; responsible conduct of research and research integrity; rights of research participants. Scholarships for 3- month program at UNC or CIDES will be offered annually to the most promising MPH student. Fogarty scholars in Madagascar will conduct a structured series of research ethics/bioethics capacity-building activities in collaboration with te University of Antananarivo and a network of nationally prominent research institutions. Workshops will be held at University of Burundi to support the creation of an ethics working group and to build capacity for local and national ethics committees.
With its high disease burden, Francophone Africa is increasingly a venue for biomedical and public health research involving human participants, but local capacity in ethical conduct and regulation of research is underdeveloped. This program will contribute to public health by enhancing responsible conduct of research and helping to maintain trust between research institutions, researchers and communities. Our program will also raise local awareness of the ethical issues commonly confronted by public health practitioners, and strengthen their skills to help resolve and manage them.
