Guide to researching human research subjects laws in west Africa.

BECAUSE OF THE SCARCITY OF PUBLICLY accessible information on West African human research subjects' protections, resources are difficult to find; many of these nations do not have local laws governing human research subjects protections and many of the local regulations are not available online. Without such information, investigators cannot effectively develop acceptable methods and procedures as they plan research in West African countries. This guide is intended for research ethics committee administrators, governmental and commercial regulators, ethicists, those in the legal community, and researchers seeking information regarding human research subjects' protections laws in West Africa. It is assembled in the hope that it will make these resources more widely available and so aid in the review and conduct of research involving human research subjects and stimulate further efforts to update such information as new regulations evolve.