Sao Tome and Principe team trains in Portugal for clinical trials
Five health professionals will gain practical experience in Portugal to develop clinical trial capabilities at home.
Five health professionals from Sao Tome and Principe are in Portugal for practical training in clinical trials. The training, from November 8 to 14, aims to prepare the nation's institutions for evaluating, regulating, and investigating clinical studies. This initiative is part of the CT-Luso project, bringing together 30 professionals from Portuguese-speaking African countries.
The São Toméan team includes specialists from the Ministry of Health's Pharmaceutical Department, the Health Ethics Commission for Scientific Research, and the National Center for Endemias. They are working with Portuguese authorities, ethics committees, and research centers to learn procedures for assessing, authorizing, and monitoring clinical trials. This knowledge will be adapted for Sao Tome and Principe's national research framework.
This hands-on training follows two previous CT-Luso programs that certified 234 professionals on ethical and regulatory foundations and 87 on Good Clinical Practices. The current stage focuses on practical application through case analysis and direct engagement with host institutions in Lisbon, Setúbal, and Porto. Recommendations from the project suggest Sao Tome and Principe's draft legislation is robust but needs a specific decree on clinical research.
Why it mattersFive health professionals from Sao Tome and Principe are receiving training to enhance the country's capacity for conducting and regulating clinical trials.