Newly appointed Mzuzu University (Mzuni) Vice-Chancellor (VC) Robert Ridley says health workers have the responsibility to adhere to ethics when carrying out their responsibilities.
Ridley said this on Monday in Mzuzu when he opened a week-long training workshop on bioethics and research ethics. Participants have been drawn from health related fields such as hospitals and research centres.
“The study of ethical issues in life sciences is vital especially among health workers when they are carrying out their duties. This will help health personnel to arrive at the right decisions,” he said.
The workshop has been organised by the Centre for Bioethics in Eastern and Southern Africa with funding from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DfID) and Wellcome Trust through Health Research Capacity Strengthening Initiative, a five-year programme hosted by the National Commission for Science and Technology.
Asked why researchers do not put all their efforts in verifying the claims, Ridley said the process requires good communication between the claimants and researchers.
“More details need to be gathered in order to prove these claims as there are several processes that are undertaken. This requires the claimants to disclose all the information about their drugs,” he said.
He admitted that this has been the problem as the claimants fear the researchers might steal their source of drugs.
Similar workshops have already been held in Blantyre and Lilongwe.
