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J Acad Ethics (2008) 6:277281
DOI 10.1007/s10805-009-9075-2
Paulina Tindana & Okyere Boateng
Published online: 12 August 2009# Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009
Abstract This article featuring Ghana constitutes one of five articles in a collection of essays on local capacity-building in research ethics by graduates from the University of Torontos Joint Centre for Bioethics MHSc in Bioethics, International Stream programme funded by the Fogarty International Center for Advanced Study in the Health Sciences (FIC). Although there are no national ethical guidelines in Ghana, eight research ethics committees have been established in the country, with a number of them obtaining Federal Wide Assurances (FWA) from the United States Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP).However, the existing ethics committees cannot match the volume of work to be done, especially in light of the increase of research activities in the country. This calls for the need to train more people in research ethics to fill that gap and provide continuing education to members of research ethics committees in the country.
Keywords Research ethics . Capacity-building . Health research . Ghana
Introduction
Ghana (formerly called the Gold Coast) is an English-speaking West African country sharing borders with Burkina Faso to the north, Cte dIvoire to the west, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. Ghana attained independence from Britain in 1957. The country has a tropical climate, and the major economic activities are agriculture (60%), industry (15%), and services (25%). Ghana is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Its major trading partners include the United States, the United Kingdom, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, South Africa, Nigeria, and China.
P. Tindana
Navrongo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, P.O. Box 114, Navrongo, Ghana e-mail: [email protected]
O. Boateng (*)
NMIMR, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG581, Legon, Ghana e-mail: [email protected]
The Ghana Experience
278 P. Tindana, O. Boateng
Table 1 highlights Ghanas main economic and health indicators, comparing these to the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) average.
The major ethnic groups within the country are Akan (49%), Mole Dagbani (16.5%), Ewe (13%), and Ga-Adangbe (8%). While each group has its own language, English is the official language. The country abounds in national resources like gold, timber, diamond, manganese, bauxite,...