Functional challenges of Research Ethics Committees in Africa. Could decentralization be a solution in Cameroon?
In 1987, Cameroon created a National Ethics Committee (nec). But it is only in 2005 that the public attention was drawn on this committee’s functional challenges, as a controversial clinical trial was testing an antiretroviral for hiv prevention, in Douala. However, few literature reports discuss the nec structure and its adequacy in the geographic and academic contexts of that country. Based on a review of the literature and of local administrative documents, this article is an essay on the ethics of research in Cameroon, with a focus on the structure and the operations of its nec. It is proposed that a mixed nec model, including a national office and regional committees, could theoretically be a better option for Cameroon.