GFBR 2019 MEETING 
SINGAPORE

AIHD NEWS

AIHD participates at the Global Forum on Bioethics in Research Meeting in Singapore
Dr Ssebunnya delivering his presentation at the 14th Forum of the GFBR in Singapore.
(Photo credits: above, Dimpho Ralafela; and, below, GFBR)
19/01/2020

Recently, the AIHD Founding Executive Director, Dr Gerald Michael Ssebunnya, attended the 14th Forum of the Global Forum on Bioethics in Research (GFBR), which took place in Singapore from the 12th to the 13th of November, 2019. The main theme of the meeting was ‘Genome editing for human benefit: ethics, engagement and governance’. 

This high-profile meeting attracted scholars and researchers from all-over the world who discussed various issues and concerns regarding the novel CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic)-Cas9 system in human gene editing. The sub-themes discussed were: 1) Human germline editing: Jiankui He case; 2) Human germline editing: Regulatory and policy responses; 3) Governance of genome editing: National and regional perspectives; 4) Engagement and social acceptability; and 5) Governance of gene drive research.
In his thought-provoking presentation entitled ‘Prudence in germline gene editing: The urgent need for collaborative partnerships in Africa’, Dr Ssebunnya pointed out that while heritable or germline gene editing (GGE) could potentially benefit many in Africa and elsewhere (such as in the management of sickle-cell disease), there is need for due prudence. He referred to prudence as the key intellectual and moral virtue necessary for the practical wisdom of mediating between rashness and timidity in human genome editing. Above all, he highlighted the need for Africa to proactively and authentically engage in the critical debate about GGE. To this end, Dr Ssebunnya called for effective collaborative partnerships within and outside Africa to foster adequate awareness and well-informed guidance, regulation and governance of human genome editing. 
While still in Singapore, Dr Ssebunnya also attended the GFBR satellite meeting of the WHO Human Genome Editing Advisory Panel held on the 14th November, 2019. The satellite meeting focused on the key issues of ‘engagement’ and ‘ethics dumping’, which are crucial considerations in the development of a WHO governance framework on human somatic and germline gene editing.

For more on the 14th Forum of the GFBR, Click here.
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