Framework for research involving people living in developing countries
18 March 2005
Scientific research conducted in the developing world that involves the participation of local people must ultimately benefit the health of the host country, say new guidelines published on Thursday 17 March by the Wellcome Trust.
This publication sets out an ethical framework that underlies the Trust’s decisions to fund research involving people in developing countries, and provides guidance and practical advice for scientists who approach the Trust for funds to conduct such research.
Research in developing countries raises many of the same ethical issues as research in developed countries. However, it also raises issues arising from cultural, economic, religious and socio-political factors specific to particular regions or countries.
These questions are a focus of international debate at present and have been the subject of a number of reports and guidelines which seek to identify and explain the pattern of obligations, rights and safeguards that are necessary to ensure that much-needed, high quality, ethical research can take place.
See also
- Press release on Framework for research in developing countries
- 6th Global Forum on Bioethics in Research