04 June 2004	Friday	15 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

PESHAWAR, June 3: The NWFP Health Department is planning to form an ethics committee to gear up research activities in all branches of medical sciences to improve the healthcare delivery network in the province , says provincial health minister Inayatullah Khan.

He was speaking at a one-day symposium on 'Ethics in Biomedical Research' here on Thursday. Highlighting the importance of research for protecting people's health, the minister said that it increased the efficiency and effectiveness of the content, planning, delivery and monitoring of the health and social care.

The federal government had already notified the ethical committee at the federal level, he said, adding that soon, a provincial-level committee would also be constituted to pave the way for the much-needed research in the medical field.

Stressing the need for maintaining the confidentiality of test subjects, the minister said the symposium would serve as a launching pad for the formation of the ethical committee.

Dr Ziaul Hassan of the Abaseen Institute of Medical Sciences said that researchers should not act against a person's wishes and a genuine consent to participate in research should be obtained, adding that researchers should be aware of social and cultural sensitivities in their areas of research.

Dr Tasleem Akhtar of the Pakistan Medical Research Centre said that researchers should ask frequent questions to fine-tune the process. She said that ethics regulated self behaviour, which ensured a more authentic research, adding that objectivity was one of the basic requirements in this regard.

She said that the cause of our backwardness in the medical field was rooted in lack research and asked the participants to pay heed to study and research in order to face the challenges posed by the fast-paced research activities in the developed countries.

Research is a continuous and unending process, she said, and added that it was useless, if not applied practically. He said that we must pay heed to building of the institutions to enhance the research activities.

Dr Mohammad Rafique of the NWFP Health Sector Reforms and Research Unit informed that the provincial health department was aggressively working to form ethical committee to expedite research within the framework of local cultural values.

He asked the researchers to furnish their suggestions regarding the structure of the proposed committee. Dean of the Postgraduate Medical Institute Dr Arshad Javaid said that formation of the ethical committee would regulate the publication of articles in national and international medical journals.

He said that the members of the committee would be rotated, encouraging new and fresh ideas to improve its functioning. He said that review committees would also be constituted to improve the research committee's performance.

Vice-chancellor of the NWFP Agricultural University Dr Iqbal Shah said that research provided a basis for development in any given field, adding that students should be encouraged to read books, write articles and ask questions from their teachers, enabling them to develop critical and analytical mind.

Others, who spoke on the occasion, included Dr Nasiruddin Azam Khan, Dr Mohammad Younas, Dr Zahoorullah, Dr Abdul Hameed, Dr Amin Jan Gandapur, Dr Jalilur Rehman and Dr Fayyaz Ali.