Addis Ababa University hosted the 3rd annual national health sector research ethics conference in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Johns Hopkins University Research Ethics Training Program on the 10th of December 2024.

In panel discussions, oral and poster presentations, scholars from Ethiopia and overseas experts addressed important ethical challenges confronting medical researchers and institutional review boards today.

Beyond looking into the ethical standards of health research, the conference served to initiate conversation between health researchers and ethicists paving the way for advances in ethical research in the health sciences in the country.

In recognition of the overriding importance of ethics competence, a research ethics masters program was launched in earlier years in cooperation with John’s Hopkins University to help raise the ethical profile and integrity of the broad spectrum of health research in Ethiopia, Adamu Adisie (PhD), Director for the AAU School of Public Health and AAU-JHU, said.

The Johns Hopkins University-Addis Ababa University Research Ethics Training Program in Ethiopia (JHU-AAU RETP) created the new track in research ethics with professors drawn from JHU and other African universities that addressed core ethics issues as well as emerging ethics challenges as they relate to medical and health research in Ethiopia.

Key figures from academia, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, international ethics scholars and partners attended the conference.