A review of a South African research ethics committee.

KwaZulu-Natal is the epicentre of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The antenatal prevalence of HIV was 32.5% in 1999. Other prevalent diseases are tuberculosis, malaria, malnutrition and several malignancies such as that of the cervix and the oesophagus. Health care in South Africa is provided by both the private and public sector. People using the private sector generally have access to privately funded medical aid schemes, and tend to have diseases patterns resembling those found in the western world. The public sector is utilised by the majority of the population with a wide spectrum of disease including those seen in developing countries. Thus researchers in South Africa have a unique opportunity to investigate diseases of both developed countries and the developing world.