Research in global health emergencies: ethical issues

Developments since launch

Our report Research in global health emergencies: ethical issues was published on 28 January 2020. Since its launch, we have been working to strengthen the impact of its findings and recommendations in the context of the pandemic through a number of international activities. We have put together a report highlighting the key developments since the publication of the report.

Highlights include:

• Members of the working group joining / chairing national and international committees aimed at guiding the research response throughout the pandemic, including the WHO’s COVID-19 working groups on ethics, vaccines prioritisation, and social science research.
• Members of the working group and executive joining the COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition, and forming the Coalition’s Ethics working group.
• The report being highlighted as a key resource for COVID-19 research ethics in guidance documents issued by international authorities, including the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the WHO.

Alongside these, the Council has engaged with international partners to share its work across the world and understand how different aspects of the report might be relevant and useful in varied contexts and environments. A comprehensive list of our work with partners and accounts of how our work has contributed to the COVID-19 research response, to date, are provided in the report.