|
The Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS)
is an international, non-governmental, non-profit organization established
jointly by WHO and UNESCO in 1949. The membership of CIOMS in 2003
includes 48 international member organizations, representing many of
the biomedical disciplines, and 18 national members mainly representing
national academies of sciences and medical research councils. The main
objectives of CIOMS are: To facilitate and promote international activities
in the field of biomedical sciences, especially when the participation
of several international associations and national institutions is
deemed necessary; To maintain collaborative relations with the United
Nations and its specialized agencies, in particular with WHO and UNESCO;
To serve the scientific interests of the international biomedical community
in general.
ETHICA was established to be a forum for sustained examination of
some of the pressing ethical issues in international health, in the
belief that such an examination is necessary to provide a better foundation
for sound health policy. We focus on three areas of investigation:
Human rights, equity and health sector reform; Ethical issues in collaborative
research in developing countries; Cross-cultural bioethics.
The International Association of Bioethics aims to be truly international,
linking all those working in bioethics and related fields, facilitating
mutual contact, and encouraging the discussion of cross-cultural aspects
in bioethics.
The Society has been established to foster an international dialogue
on the values guiding the practice of oral health care. This dialogue
is intended to be multidisciplinary, involving the disciplines of dentistry
and auxiliary oral health sciences on the one hand, and those of ethics
and law on the other, as well as related disciplines such as philosophy,
the humanities and the social sciences.
The Network is an affiliate of the International Association of Bioethics
devoted to the discussion of the ethical and medical issues associated
with: diagnosis and differentiation of brain death, coma, and persistent
vegetative state; differentiation of anencephaly and other severe neurological
deficits from brain death; organ transplantation and termination of
treatment decisions for the brain-dead and neurologically impaired;
philosophical issues of personhood and rights related to the status
of the brain dead and neurologically impaired.
International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics 
The Network’s goals are to develop a more inclusive theory
of bioethics encompassing the standpoints and experiences of women
and
other marginalized social groups, to examine presuppositions embedded
in the dominant bioethical discourse that privilege those already
empowered, and to create new methodologies and strategies responsive
to the disparate
conditions of women's lives across the globe. FAB is committed to
a non-hierarchical model of organization and seeks to include all
who
share our goals and will strive to advance them, including academics,
professionals, grassroots activists, and concerned persons from all
fields.
The International Society of Bioethics (SIBI) was founded in 1996.
It is a society which aims to promote reflection, analysis and open
discussion on bioethical issues, as expressed in its Charter of Principles.
One of its main tasks is to disseminate the Bioethics Convention of
Asturias and study in depth its contents and those of its Protocols.
The SIBI is legally, economically and administratively supported by
the same-named Foundation.
The Strategic Initiative for Developing Capacity in Ethical Review
(SIDCER) is a network of independently established regional fora for
ethical review committees, health researchers and invited partner organizations.
The primary objective of SIDCER is to contribute to human subject protections
globally by developing local capacity for ethical review of research
involving human subjects and for developing policies on the ethics
of health research.
UNESCO International Bioethics Committee 
The International Bioethics Committee (IBC) was created in 1993 and
is a body of 36 independent experts that follows progress in the life
sciences and its applications in order to ensure respect for human
dignity and freedom. The IBC provides the only global forum for in-depth
bioethical reflection by exposing the issues at stake. It does not
pass judgment on one position or another. Instead, it is up to each
country, particularly lawmakers, to reflect societal choices within
the framework of national legislation and to decide between the different
positions.
In October 2002, the World Health Organization launched its Ethics
and Health Initiative to provide a focal point for the examination
of the ethical issues raised by activities throughout the organization,
including the regional and country offices, and to develop activities
regarding a wide range of global bioethics topics. This website has
been created as an aid to persons, both inside and outside of WHO,
seeking information about bioethics. We provide a global calendar of
bioethics events, resources on research ethics, and information about
a range of topics in ethics.
The World Federation of the Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC) has
5 aims including: coordinating the efforts of Catholic Medical Associations
in the study and spread of Christian principles throughout the world;
devoting itself to the study of medico-ethical problems and their practical
and theoretical solution; and establishing models of cooperation in
health and pastoral care with developing countries.
The World Medical Association Ethics Unit
The World Medical Association (WMA) Ethics Unit was created in 2003
to coordinate and expand the WMA's ethics activities. The WMA has adopted
policy statements on a large number of ethical issues related to medical
professionalism, patient care, research on human subjects and public
policies. The Ethics Unit will help the WMA Council and standing committees
review and update current policies and develop new ones on emerging
ethical issues. It will also serve as a clearinghouse of ethics information
resources for national medical associations, their physician members
and other nterested parties and will develop new resources as appropriate.
The Ethics Unit will coordinate its activities with other international
organizations involved in medical ethics and health and human rights.
|
