To uphold ethical research practices and protect the well-being of research participants, the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) has inaugurated an Ethics Committee to review and approve research protocols involving human subjects conducted by
researchers.
The 16-man multi-disciplinary committee meet monthly to ensure that relevant research protocols that will be implemented in IHVN or by IHVN affiliates protect the rights of participants, uphold ethical integrity, adhere to informed consent processes, and follow good clinical practice standards to ascertain that research benefits outweigh the risks to participants.
The IHVN Ethics Committee Chair, Dr. Nnakelu Eriobu, said that the committee will promote the welfare, and safety of research participants.
“The committee serves as a partner to researchers, providing guidance, feedback, and oversight to ensure that ethical considerations remain at the forefront of all research endeavours within IHVN. We are dedicated to meticulously evaluating research
protocols, studies, and investigations to ascertain that they adhere to internationally recognized ethical principles and guidelines.
The Committee places significant emphasis on informed consent processes and will assess the clarity, comprehensibility, and voluntariness of the informed consent documents, ensuring that participants are fully informed about the nature and implications of their participation,” he said.
The IHVN ethics committee was trained and licensed by the Nigerian National Health Research Ethics Committee (NHREC) to provide reviews for all types of studies except phase I clinical trials. The members have obtained relevant certifications and also underwent a three-day intensive training offered by NHREC.
“Researchers can request ethical approval by submitting a filled application form, research protocol document, and other relevant supporting documents to a cloud-based form which can be accessed on the IHVN website..
We aim to respond to all applications at varying time intervals depending on the type of research protocol with the maximum feedback timeline of two months set for clinical trials from the date of submission,” Dr Eriobu said.
For PR/Media inquiries please contact:
Uzoma Nwofor
Snr Communications Manager
Institute of Human Virology Nigeria
[email protected]
