By Patrick Opio
Senior Communications Officer, Lira University
Lira University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Jasper Ogwal Okeng has lauded Research Ethics Committees(RECs) for their dedication to building a research environment grounded in ethical integrity, regulatory compliance, and social responsibility.
While addressing RECs 3-day Training workshop at Gracious Palace Hotel, Lira City (23rd to 25th July 2025), Prof. Ogwal Okeng observed that the Institutional Ethical Committees of Gulu and Lira Universities and Lacor Hospital are mandated to protect human subjects and ensure regulatory compliance.
Lira University Director of Research and Graduate Training, Assoc. Prof. Bernard Omech said that RECs are to preserve academic freedom and to support contextually relevant, innovative inquiry. “Our goal, as a university, is not to impose ethics as a barrier, but to promote it as an enabler of responsible research”, Prof. Omech advises. This requires moving beyond traditional review paradigms that were largely developed in the context of biomedical clinical trials in high-income countries. These conventional models—while important in their time—often rely on rigid, linear approaches that prioritize physical risks, structured protocols, and one-time individual consent. They assume the participant is a patient in a hospital, the researcher is a clinician, and the methods are fixed from start to finish.
At Lira University, Prof. Omech explains, researchers and graduate students are increasingly working in real-world settings—in communities, schools, refugee settlements, and primary care centers—using participatory, adaptive, and implementation science approaches.
He adds, “Our work in the CAFFP-PAC Initiative, for example, integrates comprehensive Adolescent Friendly Family Planning and Post Abortion Care in routine care systems, demanding not just ethical approvals but continuous, context-sensitive ethical engagement.”
Prof. Omech notes, “These projects require a modern ethics review philosophy: one that is proportional to the level of risk, attuned to cultural context, open to iterative learning, and supportive of early-career scholars. We must be prepared to evaluate not just randomized trials, but also exploratory qualitative studies, rapid assessments, digital health innovations, and policy-driven research.”
He revealed that the RECs training will equip participants with the tools and frameworks to go beyond the checklist to understand ethics not as a static threshold but as a dynamic process. “It empowers REC members to uphold standards without stifling creativity, and to protect participants without obstructing the research mission.”
Trainers and participants were drawn from Makerere university, Gulu University, Lira University and Lacor Hospital.
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