WHO Should Have The Evidence? Ben Goldacre Refutes WHO Director’s Claim

By Lindsay Gill

“Bad Science” adversary and journalist, Dr Ben Goldacre, this week challenged WHO Director of Ethics and Social Determinants of Health, Dr Rüdiger Krech, on his understanding of published evidence.

Krech, who was speaking about the importance of transparency at the Sixty-Sixth World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, argued that scientific journals do not publish trials that have not been registered on the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform.

When questioned on Twitter about this claim, Ben Goldacre affirmed that journals still publish unregistered trials, tweeting, “Dr Krech is disagreeing with the published evidence.”

In an email to Krech, who welcomed the discussion, Goldacre said, “Current evidence certainly shows poor compliance by journals checking for registration before publication. I think it’s important to recognise that there is a huge amount to be done here.”

Goldacre then called on the WHO to support the AllTrials campaign for governments, regulators and research bodies, to implement measures that would see all past and present clinical trials registered and fully reported.

AllTrials.net estimates that around half of all clinical trials have not been published. Currently, drug companies and researchers may withhold the results of clinical trials from doctors and patients, which can mislead people about the benefits or risks of a treatment. Transparency of clinical results would provide practitioners with more accurate estimates of the effects of interventions and prevent the repetition of costly research.

Addressing 194 member states at the opening of the WHA, WHO Director General Margaret Chan said, “Research, evidence, and information are the foundation for sound health policies, for monitoring the impact, and for ensuring accountability. They keep us on track.”

WHO’s support for the registration and reporting of all clinical trials is a necessity for this to be achieved.

Note: The twitter conversation took place between @SciCommOok and @bengoldacre on 22 May and can be found here.

A graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Science Communication, and Master of Arts in Journalism and Media, Lindsay Gill has more than nine years experience of communicating scientific research and development to industry, government and the public in the UK. Since 2009, Lindsay has worked as the Science Communication Manager for the Centre for Process Innovation, where she is responsible for the dissemination of collaborative research project activities and protection of related scientific IP. Lindsay has a variety of experience in areas including, online media development, film and radio production, and writing for both print and digital platforms.