United States- Francophone Africa Research Ethics Training Program (US-FA RETP) - The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (GWSPH) has extensive experience in international research ethics education, training, and ethics research in Africa. The United States–Francophone Africa Research Ethics Training Program (US-FA RETP) is designed to strengthen research ethics education and ethics scholarship in Mali, Guinea, and other Francophone African countries by building sustainable local capacity to train the next generation of ethics researchers, educators, and institutional leaders. The scientific rationale for conducting this work in Francophone West Africa is that the region offers a unique and essential setting in which to address research ethics challenges arising from rapidly growing research activities in contexts with evolving regulatory systems, limited resources, and diverse cultural, linguistic, and health-system environments that are not fully represented in the United States. These settings provide an important opportunity to study ethics education, mentorship models, institutional review practices, and community-engaged approaches under conditions that are different from, and complementary to, those in the United States. Knowledge generated through this program will help inform best practices for ethical research oversight, capacity strengthening, and protection of human participants in both low-resource and U.S. settings. The overall goal of US-FA RETP is to strengthen research ethics education and research in Mali, Guinea, and Francophone African countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo, through an innovative and sustainable capacity-building model. The program will be implemented through a sustained collaboration between GWSPH and the University of Science, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB), Mali, which will serve as the regional hub for research ethics training and scholarship in Francophone West Africa. USTTB is the premier health professional training institution in Mali and a leading center for ethics education and research in the region. USTTB also serves as the main host for US funded programs including NIH and US pharmaceutical company supported research. By supporting NIH-funded research in Mali and Francophone Africa, the US-FA RETP benefits the American people and the global community by accelerating global health solutions, providing access to unique populations for critical clinical trials, and enhancing scientific competitiveness through international collaboration. In addition, research projects that are conducted in collaboration with Francophone Africa researchers help identify emerging infectious diseases before they reach the U.S. and drive biomedical innovations that support American biotech industries. The program has four aims: Aim 1: Enhance the pedagogical and curricular capacity of faculty at a selected Francophone African institution to deliver a short-term hybrid research ethics course and mentoring. Aim 2: Expand the research ethics concentration within the existing USTTB Master of Public Health (MPH) program to train a cadre of professionals with expertise in research ethics for Mali, Guinea, and the wider Francophone African region. Aim 3: Promote research on priority research ethics issues in Francophone West Africa. Aim 4: Convene a dedicated Francophone Africa Research Ethics Conference in Mali. The MPH concentration in research ethics will include mentoring, coursework, mentored research projects, and training in grant writing, scientific writing, and presentation skills. Over the 5-year grant period, three cohorts of six students each will be recruited into the 2-year degree program. Annual short-term workshops will support additional trainees, while faculty development activities will incorporate health research ethics components.
