The National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) on 20th June, 2024 conducted training for Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) based in Dar es Salaam, on the National Research Ethics Information Management System (NREIMS) to learn the new system as a tool for the online health research protocol review and approval at both the National and Institutional levels of research ethics clearance processes.
During the training participants navigated throughout the system and learned the functionalities of the multi-IRB research ethics clearance system hence the name NREIMS.

In her opening remarks, on behalf of NIMR Director General, Dr. Elizabeth Shayo, Principal Research Officer at NIMR said NREIMS development involved various strategies including generation of the need assessment report indicating health research clearance processes of related institutes in the country, organizing various stakeholders meetings for deliberation of successful development of the system, preparation of NREIMS Concept Note that was reviewed and approved by the e-Government Authority (eGA), development of software requirement specifications (SRS) that justified development of the system.

Further, Dr. Shayo reminded that on 14th and 18th June 2024, NIMR conducted NREIMS User Acceptance Test (UAT) workshop to NatHREC Secretariat, bringing together Administrators, Reviewers, Researchers, ICT personnel, and the management for the purpose of testing the validity of NREIMS. Report of the UAT workshop indicated that all the test modules of the system are functional and ready to serve the purpose of the online, one stop-centre multi-IRB ethics clearance system.

The successful development of NREIMS was coordinated by NIMR Principal Research Officer and Co-PI of the EDCTP sponsored project known as the Consortium for Clinical Research Regulation and Ethics Capacity in the Eastern Africa Region (CCRREEA), Dr. Mwanaidi Kafuye. Dr. Kafuye said, NREIMS will harmonize health research ethics clearance processes across IRBs in Tanzania and improve quality and turnaround time of research approvals. She added that the system will enhance real-time data sharing between IRBs and NIMR and related health research regulatory stakeholders in Tanzania.
The Training took place at NIMR headquarters and brought together NatHREC Secretariat, representatives from Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), IRBs from participating Institutions based in Dar es Salaam.