Monash University Now a WHO Collaborating Centre for Bioethics

Monash University’s Centre for Human Bioethics will play a key role in how the world responds to infectious diseases - including public health emergencies of international concern such as the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Officially designated as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Bioethics, the Centre will support WHO in awareness-raising and capacity-building activities in ethics and health, provide technical assistance to Member states, and collaborate with WHO on ethical and policy issues associated with infectious disease control and biomedical research.
Bioethics has a significant role to play in ensuring that public health policy promotes justice and human rights. The WHO Collaborating Centres for Bioethics are key institutions with relevant expertise distributed throughout the world. They represent a valuable resource as an extended and integral arm of WHO's capacity to implement its ethics mandate.
Monash University Vice-Provost (Research), Professor Pauline Nestor said the designation was an honour for Monash University and highlights its position at the forefront of bioethics and public health ethics internationally.
“Bioethics has a significant role to play in ensuring that public health policy is just and equitable,” Professor Nestor said.
“Monash is currently the only WHO Bioethics Collaborating Centre in Australia and its status as a WHO Collaborating Centre will ensure that our research and talent play a formative role on some of the most important ethical issues related to global public health practice and policy.”
Director of the new centre, Professor Michael Selgelid said the designation demonstrates that the Centre for Human Bioethics is showing international leadership in the area of bioethics.
“WHO plays a paramount role in global public health practice and policy. As a collaborating centre we’ll be working with the WHO on some of the most important ethical issues surrounding global public health,” Professor Selgelid said.
“Our work as a collaborating centre will both directly and indirectly influence global public health practice and policy—and thus have real impact.”
The Centre for Human Bioethics was established at Monash in 1980 as Australia’s first research centre devoted to bioethics, and it is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading Centres of its kind.
As well as collaborating with WHO the Centre will be part of a Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Bioethics with partners at University of Toronto, Columbia University, University of Miami, University of Zurich and National University of Singapore.