Coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) Pandemic
Health Ethics & Governance
We provide a focal point for the examination of ethical issues raised by activities throughout the Organization and foster discussion and debate on diverse topics in global health ethics.
Ethics and COVID-19
From resource allocation and priority-setting, physical distancing, public health surveillance, health-care worker's rights and obligations to conduct of clinical trials, the COVID-19 pandemic presents serious ethical challenges. These in turn are complicated by the diverse health systems and unique cultural and socio-economic contexts of countries. Consequently, there is a great need for guidance to ensure ethical conduct of research, decision making in clinical care, and public health policymaking at every level of the global COVID-19 response.
WHO Working Group on Ethics and COVID-19
WHO has established an international Working Group on Ethics and COVID-19 in order to develop advice on key ethical questions that Member States need to address. The expert group also advises WHO’s technical units regarding ethical aspects of their COVID-related work. Since its formation in February
2020, the group has been engaged in the following activities:
- Advice on ethical considerations in COVID-19 research
- Practical guidance on the application of ethical values central to COVID-19 research published in the journal “Public Health Ethics”
- A policy brief on resource allocation and priority setting in COVID-19 care
- Providing ethics input into the WHO's Clinical Management Guidelines and training
- Feedback provided on the Solidarity Trial protocol
- Development of emergency standard operating procedures for human research committees to facilitate rapid review of protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Advice on the criteria that must be satisfied for SARS-CoV-2 challenge studies to be ethically acceptable
- Considering other areas: Immunity certificates, MEURI (i.e., monitored emergency use of unregistered and experimental interventions) and the fair global allocation of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.
the ACT Accelerator
The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator is a global collaboration to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. WHO has established an international Working Group to develop a high-level ethical framework for WHO and its partners in the ACT Accelerator. The Group has been involved in the following activities and outputs cover the following:
- Allocation of diagnostics
- Allocation of therapeutics
- Review of data governance framework
- Development of policy brief on placebo use in vaccine trials
Resources
Questions and answers
Health Ethics & Governance
WHO's work on Ethics
Outbreaks and emergencies
WHO's work on Ethics
Global Ethics Response to COVID-19
The global ethics community is working together to address the ethical implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO's Global Health Ethics team works to strengthen communication, collaboration and cooperation in these endeavors.
Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Bioethics
In responding to COVID-19, the Global Health Ethics team is working together with the Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Bioethics, a well-established network of institutions in diverse locations across the world. The expertise of
these centres enriches the ethical support WHO is able to provide its Member States.
National Ethics Committees (NECs)
An increasing number of nations have created official bodies to provide advice to their executive and legislative branches, and often to the general public, about bioethics. Understandably, the demands on these bodies to provide ethical guidance
have substantially grown in the urgent and rapidly changing context of the pandemic. The Global Health Ethics team seeks to support NECs by developing guidance in response to their needs and facilitating communication, collaboration and exchange
between NECs from around the world to help countries respond to the ethical challenges presented by COVID-19.
Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Ethics Network (PHEPREN)
Led by the World Health Organization and supported by key partners including the Fogarty International Center, Global Forum on Bioethics in Research, Global Health Network, Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres and Wellcome, PHEPREN is a global community of bioethicists building on pre-existing expertise and resources to provide real-time, trusted, contextual support to communities, policymakers, researchers, and responders in relation
to the ethical issues arising out of global health emergencies, with a current focus on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Publications
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The aim of the document is to identify and articulate salient ethical considerations regarding mandatory vaccinations against COVID-19. This document updates...
29 November 2021
COVID-19 vaccine trial designs in the context of authorized COVID-19 vaccines and expanding global access:...
Executive SummaryIn June 2020, global regulators convened under the auspices of the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA)...
This framework has been developed in order to assist stakeholders in navigating ethical issues and dilemmas, and more broadly make value-informed decisions,...
28 May 2020
Ethical considerations to guide the use of digital proximity tracking technologies for COVID-19 contact...
Digital proximity tracking technologies have been identified as a potential tool to support contact tracing for COVID-19. However, these technologies raise...
28 May 2020
Guidance for research ethics committees for rapid review of research during public health emergencies
Conducting research on new medications or vaccines during a pandemic is essential, and research ethics committees need to be prepared to rapidly review...