The ERC ensures that WHO only supports research of the highest ethical standards, and reviews all research projects, involving human participants supported either financially or technically by WHO.
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Guidelines
This guidance aims to synthesize current good practice for incorporating ethics into health research priority setting. It is relevant to anyone making...
23 June 2025
The ethics of health research priority setting
The resources available for health research at any given time – including money but also time, infrastructure and personnel – are scarce. Not...
29 September 2011
Standards and operational guidance for ethics review of health-related research with human participants
This document is intended to provide guidance to research ethics committees on which organizations rely to review and oversee the ethical aspects of research,...
Tool
25 September 2023
WHO tool for benchmarking ethics oversight of health-related research involving human...
This tool is intended to assist countries in evaluating their capacity to provide appropriate ethical oversight of health-related research.
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External resources
- International ethical guidelines for biomedical research involving human subjects
Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences. pdf, 1.55Mb - International ethical guidelines for epidemiological studies
Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences. pdf, 634Kb - World Medical Association: Declaration of Helsinki
- European Group on Ethics
- Directive 2001/20/ec of the European Parliament and of the Council
pdf, 152Kb - Council of Europe (Oviedo Convention - Protocol on biomedical research)
- Nuffield Council: The ethics of research related to healthcare in developing countries