2021 ABN Meeting
First Asian Bioethics Network Meeting held on 10 June 2021
Summary of Inaugural Meeting
- The first Asian Bioethics Network (ABN) meeting was held on 10 June 2021 in conjunction with BAC’s 20th Anniversary Event, which also comprised a virtual public conference held on 17 and 18 June 2021.
- The ABN meeting was chaired by Mr Charles Lim, BAC member and Singapore’s representative to UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee (IGBC) for the 2018-2021 term.
- At the meeting, the BAC shared its proposal to establish the Asian Bioethics Network, and also invited representatives from different Asian countries to share their national bioethics committees’ work, achievements, latest developments, as well as emerging bioethical issues in their countries.
- The attendees agreed to the BAC’s proposal to establish the Asian Bioethics Network as it would facilitate the sharing of resources, enable knowledge exchange and help foster regional networks. This would mutually benefit all network members by allowing the various committees to be kept abreast of the latest international developments in bioethics, and ensure that their recommendations were developed in tandem with international best practices. With continued relationship-building, the network members would also be better able to converge on ethical positions and represent the Asian perspective at international platforms.
Representatives from ABN member states
| S/N | Country | Name | Professional Designation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | Ms Prue Torrance | Executive Director, Research Quality and Priorities Branch, National Health and Medical Research Council |
| 2 | Australia | Dr Jeremy Kenner | Expert Advisor Ethics, National Health and Medical Research Council |
| 3 | Bhutan | Dr Neyzang Wangmo | Chairperson, Research Ethics Board of Health, Ministry of Health, Bhutan; and Director, Medical Education Centre for Research, Innovation and Training |
| 4 | Myanmar | Dr Theingi Thwin | Director, Research (Ret.), Department of Medical Research (DMR); and Member, DMR Ethical Institutional Review Board |
| 5 | Nepal | Professor Dr Prakash Ghimire | Chairperson, Ethical Review Board, Nepal Health Research Council, Nepal; Ethics Consultant, WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific; and Professor, Central Department of Microbiology (Institute of Science and Technology), Tribhuvan University |
| 6 | Nepal | Ms Namita Ghimire | Research Officer, Ethical Review Board, Nepal Health Research Council, Nepal |
| 7 | New Zealand | Associate Professor Neil Pickering | Chair, National Ethics Advisory Committee; and Associate Professor, Bioethics Centre, University of Otago |
| 8 | New Zealand | Mr Nic Aagard | Acting Manager, Secretariat of the National Ethics Advisory Committee, Ministry of Health, New Zealand |
| 9 | Sri Lanka | Professor Anoja Indrakanthi Fernando | Emeritus Professor, Pharmacology, University of Ruhuna Vice Chair and Rapporteur, UNESCO International Bioethics Committee (IBC) |
| 10 | Vietnam | Associate Professor Le Thi Thu Hien | Deputy Director, Institute of Genome Research, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology; and Associate Editor, Vietnam Journal of Biotechnology |