Research Bioethics in the Ugandan Context II: Procedural and Substantive Reform

Abstract

In July 1997, the voting representatives at the National Consensus Conference (NCC) on Bioethics in Health Research voted unanimously to adopt the proposed Guidelines for the Conduct of Health Research Involving Human Subjects in Uganda (Guidelines). This vote represented the culmination of a three-year journey towards the development of a coherent and cohesive framework for the ethical review of health research involving human subjects in Uganda. Attendees at the NCC included both voting representatives and non-voting participants. Voting representatives had been designated by the institutional entity with which they were affiliated to represent that entity at the NCC and to voice the concerns and opinions of the entity and its constituents.