Bioethics in Sri Lanka.

Bioethics took off slowly in Sri Lanka, but now there are ethics review committees in many medical schools and national organizations. All medical schools teach some medical ethics but there are not enough trained teachers. There are no national guidelines on research ethics. The Forum for Research and Development was formed with the aim of building a new ethical research culture. The bioethics initiative includes: awareness-raising; education activities and capacity building; advocacy; and the development of policy guidelines. We aim to raise awareness in the scientific community and the general public on ethical, legal and social principles guiding the responsible conduct of research.