Table 1.

Search strategy and selection criteria

Level	Components of search
Level 1	Search Engines: Google, Google Scholar, PubMed, National Library of Medicine Keywords: Name of country + each of the following terms: human biological specimens, biobanks, ethics regulations, research ethics, ethics regulations, ethics committee, bioethics, consent, human subjects research, drug regulation, research regulations, institutional review boards, ethics review committees, materials transfer agreement
Level 2	On-line directories: Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research (CCGHR). www.ccghr.ca Harvard Research Ethics Guidelines International Online Navigation Map (REGION). https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/region-map/ Health Research Web (HRWeb). https://healthresearchweb.org/en/africa Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP). International Compilation of Human Research Protections. http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/sites/default/files/internationalcomp2016%20.pdf Training and Resources in Research Ethics Evaluation (TRREE). http://elearning.trree.org/ UNESCO – Assisting Bioethics Committees (ABC) http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/bioethics/assisting-bioethics-committees/ UNESCO Global Ethics Observatory. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/global-ethics-observatory/ WHO African Health Observatory (Health Systems) http://www.aho.afro.who.int/en/atlas/health-system WHO MINDbank. https://www.mindbank.info/
Level 3	Web sites of regional ethics organizations: Pan African Bioethics Initiative (PANBIN). http://www.who.int/sidcer/fora/pabin/en/
Level 4	Direct contact via email with National Ethics Committees in Sub-Saharan African countries
Level 5	1. Scan of journal articles on biomedical research in specific SSA countries to identify:  a. Ethics Review Statement: Name of African REC, if any, that conducted an ethics review of research protocol  b. Names of US researchers who have worked in that particular African country 2. Check web for identified IRB/ERC/approval granting regulatory body 3. Contact individual researchers by email to request information about IRB reviewing procedures and familiarity with regulations (if any) governing collection and use of HBS.