First Annual General Meeting of the SECRET project

The first Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the SECRET project was held in person from 17 to 18 July 2025 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC) provided administrative and logistical support.

The meeting focused on:

1. Reviewing the current status of the project through updates from each consortium partner;

2. Discussing implementation challenges;

3. Defining the way forward for the upcoming project year.

Eight consortium partners attended the meeting. Welcome remarks were given by Dr Ewenat Gebrehanna (SPHMMC), followed by opening remarks from Dr Sena Dhugasa, Corporate Director for Research and Community Service at SPHMMC.

Each consortium partner presented a detailed update on their respective work package and the challenges they encountered during the implementation, followed by in-depth discussion. The partners then drafted a roadmap for the next project year. The main recommendations from the meeting included:

• Finalising the decision on the digital platform to be used in Ethiopia and defining its scope;

• Delivering the training programme for the identified research ethics committees (RECs) in Uganda and Ethiopia before the end of 2025;

• Engaging with the Ethiopian FDA;

• Strengthening communication and dissemination activities.

Prof Raffaella Ravinetto (ITM) and Dr Bernard Kikaire (UNHRO) gave the closing remarks. The meeting was particularly significant as it marked the first face-to-face gathering of the consortium partners, fostering stronger collaboration and transparency.