WHO and NHRC sign MoU to establish National Online Ethical Review System

Members of the Nepal Health Research Council and WHO at the MoU signing event held in Kathmandu, Bagmati Province, Nepal. Photo credit: Nepal Health Research Council

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a national online ethical review system aimed at streamlining and standardizing the health research review process across Nepal.

The signing ceremony was attended by Dr Pramod Joshi, member secretary of NHRC; Dr Manju Rani, Regional Advisor for research and innovation at WHO South-East Asia Regional Office and Dr Gampo Dorji, Team Lead, WHO Nepal.

Currently, NHRC oversees 60 Institutional Review Committees (IRCs) and the Ethical Review Board (ERB) for evaluating and monitoring research projects. This is done through a general portal with no specific provision for clinical trials and no harmonized portal for IRCs.

The new system, supported by WHO, will help to:

1. Align ethics review processes and standards followed by ERB and other institutional review committees with international ethical standards.
2. Streamline submission, review and decision-making processes for research proposals from ERB and IRCs, and those that will be registered in the future.
3. Ensure efficient and secure management of data related to the ethical review process.

An integral component of the initiative will be the establishment of a clinical trial registry compliant with WHO standards, enhancing the management and standardization of registries.

The MoU marks a significant step forward in advancing digital solutions for ethical research governance in Nepal.