The Ninth Global Summit for National Ethics Committees was held in Tunisia from 26 to 28 September 2012, under the patronage of His Excellency (H.E.) the Minister of Health of Tunisia and H.E. the Minister of Health of Qatar, reflecting the commitment of countries of the Region to strengthening this important area. Members of the ethics and health programme at WHO headquarters serve as the permanent secretariat for the Global Summit and provide technical support to its members. The Summit, being held for the first time in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, was attended by delegations from 12 Member States of the Region.
National ethics committees have an indispensible role to play in shaping and guiding ethics discourse and practices at national level, as well as, raising awareness of priority topics and positive interventions of national ethics committees.
National ethics committees serve as a platform for providing guidance to policy-makers and stimulating interest and debate on crucial ethical issues among the general public. At the national level, they review contemporary ethics issues, provide advice to executive and legislative sectors and issue recommendations. Health ethics need to be integrated into national policies and legislation to protect human health and well-being.
Ethics is not an issue that can be imported or adopted as is, it has to be adapted and developed based on the specific context in relation to the culture and norms of each community.
