Nigeria Launches e-Portal To Digitise Health Research Ethics

The National Health Research Ethics Committee (NHREC) will modernise and harmonise health research oversight in the country.

Speaking at a two-day national training and standardisation workshop on the Electronic Ethics Protocol Submission System (e-portal), yesterday in Abuja, the Minister of State for Health, Dr Iziaq Salako, described the e-portal as a transformative tool that will ensure ethical compliance in all health-related research across Nigeria.

“This committee is critical in ensuring that research involving human subjects follows globally accepted ethical standards. This digital shift means researchers anywhere in the world can submit protocols from the comfort of their homes, without needing to navigate bureaucracy,” he said.

Represented by the Ministry’s Director of Planning, Research, and Statistics, Dr. Kamil Shotirere said, “This innovation ensures that we no longer rely on personal connections or manual handovers. It boosts transparency, accountability,”

The workshop is designed to equip members of NHREC and institutional Health Research Ethics Committees (HRECs) with the tools and knowledge to transition to a fully digital protocol review process.

The e-portal aims to streamline the ethical review by enabling online submission, real-time tracking, automated workflows, and centralised communication. Once fully operational, researchers can submit proposals, make payments, attach necessary documents, and receive digital feedback.

NHREC Chairman, Professor Richard Adegbola, emphasised the importance of the training in his opening address, describing the e-portal as “a gateway to efficiency, transparency, and accountability.”

He acknowledged the challenges of the current manual review process, including delays, inconsistent feedback, and missed funding opportunities due to slow approval timelines.

“We’ve heard from researchers who submitted proposals eight months ago and never received a response. That ends now. With this portal, applicants can see real-time progress and hold the system accountable,” Prof. Adegbola asserted.

The initiative, funded by the Gates Foundation through the Africa Clinical Trial Regulatory and Ethics Optimisation Project, is supported by the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Nigeria Office and consultants from PHIS3. Professor Adegbola praised their contribution, noting that the system has been ready since December 2024, but was held back to allow thorough testing and training. “We didn’t want to launch and watch it crash in two weeks. We’re taking the time to get it right,” he said.

Special Advisor for Research and Innovation, Dr Lolade Adeyemi, highlighted the workshop’s significance in bringing together stakeholders nationwide for the first time in years. “We’re standardising ethical research review processes nationwide. Approvals will follow the same rules whether you’re in Lagos or Lafia. That’s how we build local and international trust,” she said.

The training participants include chairs and secretaries of state-level ethics committees and institutional boards. They are being taken through hands-on sessions to understand and test the new system. Feedback from this workshop will be used to fine-tune the portal before its full rollout.

The e-portal is expected to officially go live for public use before the end of the third quarter 2025. Once launched, it is anticipated to significantly reduce turnaround times for ethical reviews, harmonise practices across Nigeria’s regions, and position the country as a serious player in global health research.