OPINION - Enhancing research ethics capacity: implications for protection of research subjects, avoiding exploitation and achieving global health

Research sponsored by developed countries is increasingly being conducted in developing countries. While many celebrate the enhanced funding of foreign sponsors, others are concerned with the ethics of such research. Ethical issues usually center on the protection of the rights and welfare of human subjects involved in research. Another important issue involves avoiding exploitation by ensuring that developing countries receive a fair share of the benefits of foreign-sponsored research. A fair exchange of benefits between resource-rich and resource-scarce counties can help achieve global health. To ensure that research conducted in developing countries undergo proper ethical oversight and is responsive to the local context, measures to enhance research ethics capacity needs to be instituted in the developing world.