ERES where Excellence Research Ethics & Science Converge.
Overview
ERES Converge is a private IRB in Zambia. It is registered by the office of Registrar of Societies in Lusaka, Zambia. The Board was registered in 2007.
Do we follow national/international guidelines?
ERES Converge IRB is accredited to the Office for Protection of Human Research Participants (OHRP) in the United States of America and therefore has an IRB and Federal Wide Assurance (FWA) numbers, 00005948 and 00011697 respectively. As indicated above ERES Converge is registered as a limited Company and has a board of Directors. It is locally recognised by the National Health Research Authority in the Zambia’s Ministry of Health which accredits all Research Ethics Committees, or IRB’s, in the Country. The IRB adheres to regulations as outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki, the Belmont Report, CIOMS and the International Guidelines for Biomedical Research. ERES Converge adheres strictly to International Standards of Good Clinical Practice.
What are the legal requirements for its members regarding human research?
ERES Converge drives its legal mandate from recognition by the National Health Research Authority which in turns draws its legal framework from the Zambian Laws that govern Health research and Human rights. No research involving Human research participants or vertebrate animals is allowed to proceed in Zambia without ethical approval. Further, research that is conducted in Government institutions needs to be cleared by the holding Ministry for the study to be anchored in the government institution after it has been ethically approved.
Specific responsibilities
- Reviewing and approving the protocols proposing studies (at Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Non-Academic), program evaluations, clinical trials, and laboratory investigations on human samples for publication purposes.
- Monitoring the implementation of proposed protocols by ensuring that research goals, no matter how important, are never permitted to override the health, wellbeing, and care of research participants.
- Complimenting existing laws, regulations, and practices to ensure teams implementing research comply with international and local standards.
- Partnering with stakeholders on Research Ethics Issues.
Conducting training in the following areas:
- Full GCP training
- Introduction to GCP
- Basic Research Ethics
- Training of Community Representatives
- Mathematics for Quantitative Researchers
- Research Methods for Qualitative Researchers
- Training for Supervisors of Undergraduate and Postgraduate research
- Overview of Zambia Health Research Act
- Corporate governance
- Board Evaluation
- Tailor made Board and Management training
Contact or send us a message: