Kalter, Henry D.
Perin, Jamie
Amouzou, Agbessi
Kwamdera, Gift
Adewemimo, Wasilat Adeyinka
Nguefack, Félicitée
Roubanatou, Abdoulaye-Mamadou
Black, Robert E.
Funding for this research was provided by:
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1096225)
United States Agency for International Development (GHS-A-00-09-00004)
Article History
Received: 11 March 2020
Accepted: 17 May 2020
First Online: 12 June 2020
Ethics approval and consent to participate
: Ethical clearance for the VASA study in each of the four countries was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the relevant national ethics committee: in Cameroon, the Cameroon National Research Committee; in Malawi, the Malawi National Health and Science Research Committee; in Niger, the National Consultative Ethics Committee of the Niger Ministry of Health; and in Nigeria, the National Health Research Ethics Committee of the Federal Ministry of Health. The training of data collectors in each country included a one and one-half hour didactic session on ethical principles and practices for human subjects research, including matters of sensitivity, confidentiality, administering informed consent, and prescribed assistance to bereaved respondents; a 1-h role play session with practice scenarios on dealing sensitively with bereaved respondents; and 3 days of supervised field practice conducting the VASA interview with mothers of recently deceased neonates and young children. All respondents marked their affirmation of oral informed consent, and data collectors signed the consent form to testify to their having administered the consent and witnessed the respondents marking the form before the interview was conducted.
: Not applicable.
: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.