Ghana selected for WHO clinical trial benchmarking pilot

Ghana has been selected as one of only eight countries globally to participate in a World Health Organization (WHO) pilot program to benchmark clinical trial readiness. Led by the National Vaccine Institute (NVI), the initiative utilizes a new tool to evaluate whether a nation's institutions are equipped to conduct ethical, scientifically credible, and high-quality clinical research.

The WHO benchmarking framework assesses seven functional areas: patient engagement, scientific research design, regulatory oversight, data management, trial operations, leadership, and infrastructure. The tool includes 32 functional objectives and 112 specific outcomes to identify institutional strengths and capacity gaps.

As part of the pilot, 13 Ghanaian institutions—including the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the University of Ghana Medical Centre—participated in a training workshop in Ho and conducted self-assessments between August 10 and 13, 2026.