By Mercy Gadia Adi
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening ethical standards in Nigeria’s health research sector, pledging sustained support for the National Health Research Ethics Committee (NHREC) to safeguard research participants and align local studies with global best practices.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, made the pledge on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking at the 2026 Face-to-Face Meeting and Training Workshop of the NHREC.
Dr Salako said robust ethical oversight remained fundamental to credible scientific inquiry, public confidence and research integrity, particularly as Nigeria expands its footprint in clinical trials, drug development and vaccine research.
He traced the formal institutionalisation of health research ethics in Nigeria to the establishment of NHREC in 2005, noting that its statutory mandate was strengthened by the National Health Act of 2014. According to him, the Act empowers the committee to regulate ethical approvals, issue guidelines for research involving human participants and monitor studies to protect the rights, safety and wellbeing of research subjects.
Commending the current leadership of the committee under its chairman, Professor Richard Adegbola, the Minister said NHREC has significantly improved ethical standards through timely review of research proposals and enhanced regulatory oversight. He described the 2026 workshop as a fitting activity to mark the second anniversary of the reconstituted committee, inaugurated in January 2024.
A major highlight of the Minister’s address was the digital transformation of the ethics review process. He praised NHREC for revamping its website and introducing an electronic ethics review portal, describing the initiative as a milestone that would improve efficiency, data management, cost-effectiveness, stakeholder engagement and performance monitoring across the research ecosystem.
Dr Salako urged researchers, institutions, sub-national ethics committees and international partners to fully utilise the e-portal to promote transparency, strengthen research integrity and ensure the protection of research participants nationwide.
He also acknowledged the support of development partners, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC), the World Health Organization’s African Vaccine Regulatory Forum (AVAREF), the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials (MRCT) Centre and GARNET partners, for their contributions to building NHREC’s institutional capacity.
The Minister highlighted the ongoing Trial Regulation and Clinical Ethics Optimization (TRACE) project as a key initiative aimed at improving the safety, rigour and credibility of clinical trials in Nigeria.
Reaffirming the Federal Government’s commitment under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Dr Salako said Nigeria would continue to support and fund local research in drug development, vaccines and disease epidemiology, stressing that such investments could only yield optimal outcomes within a strong ethical framework.
He charged NHREC members to intensify efforts toward building a robust and ethically compliant health research system capable of contributing to national development and global health objectives.
Dr Salako thereafter declared the 2026 NHREC Face-to-Face Meeting and Training Workshop open, expressing optimism that strengthened ethical governance would enhance public trust and elevate Nigeria’s profile in global health research.