Pandemic ethics is a Research Council of Norway funded research project, that aims to develop country-based and global agendas for a just and practicable post-trial arrangements (PTA) for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) during epidemic/pandemic situations.
About the project
Pandemic Ethics is funded by the Research Council of Norway. The Project is coordinated by Dr. Rosemarie de la Cruz Bernabe from the Centre of Medical Ethics of the University of Oslo and Implemented across seven countries (Norway, Brazil, The Philippines, Nepal, India, Tanzania, and Kenya) four continents; Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Of the 10 organizations, 6 are academic institutions, 3 governmental/regulatory agencies, and 1 patient organization.
Objectives
The objectives of Pandemic ethics are to:
- Describe, investigate, and make explicit the complex pandemic/epidemic post-trial access socio-ecological landscape in 6 LMICs from a legal/regulatory, stakeholder-based, and popular perspective.
- Provide human-development based research ethics foundations and propose country-based and global agendas on a just and practicable post-trial access system during epidemics/pandemics.
Background
Many drug clinical trials and other health interventions studies happened during the covid-19 pandemic because vaccines and the health care were needed as soon as possible. The world was not ready for the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 has shown that during emergency situations, low- and middle-income countries bear the brunt of the negative consequences of pandemics. In lower income countries, a year after vaccines were made available, less than 20 percent had at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to 60-70 percent in high-income countries. In addition to vaccine nationalism, high income countries provided vaccines to their own citizens first. There was a lack of global and national governance during the pandemic. Governance and procedures based on equity are needed to assure that the most vulnerable access and receive timely and affordable health care. Pandemic Ethics will bring together the voices of stakeholders from the different countries and continents. First to understand their needs, perspectives, and desires about how the global order should be. Second to develop national and global governance agendas on post-trial responsibilities during emergency situations.
Financing
This Project is funded by the Research Council of Norway.
Cooperation
The project is coordinated by the University of Oslo in Norway and implemented by University of the Philippines - National Institutes of Health, Philippine Department of Health, Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations, King Edward Memorial Hospital, Nepal Health Research Council, Tribhuvan University -Institute of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brasil, National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Tanzania, and University of Nairobi, Kenya.
Project start and finish
The Project started on July 1, 2023, and will end on June 30, 2028.