We are pleased to announce that Chavdar Pavlov, Professor of Sechenov University and member of the Ethics Council of the Ministry of Health of Russia, has joined the World Health Organisation expert group for the development of a global benchmarking tool for ethics oversight of the integrity of health research.

This WHO expert group also includes other representatives of the Russian Federation: Alexander Khokhlov, Professor of Yaroslavl State Medical University and Chairperson of the Ethics Council of the Ministry of Health, and Elena Dmitrieva, Professor of MGIMO University and Deputy Chairperson of the Ethics Council of the Ministry of Health.

According to the WHO, just 50 of the 194 member states — only 26% — have effective ethics regulatory bodies, while 144 countries have issues with regulation of medical research ethics.

An international group of WHO experts, Global Forum for Research Ethics and Integrity, was created with the purpose of developing common standards of research ethics — for all countries. The main task is the development of a global benchmarking tool for ethics oversight of the integrity of health research with human participants, including research based on biological samples and data.

The experts will also analyse the standards of ethics committees in different countries and propose criteria for global independent assessment of research ethics in prevention, diagnostics, treatment, and rehabilitation.

The WHO continues to evaluate the national regulatory authorities of the member states. In addition, the organisation will offer development plans and define the core set of regulatory documents, focusing on patient safety and transparency in decision making.

For more information, please visit the relevant WHO page.