As the rising prevalence and life-threatening consequences of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Africa have become more obvious,1 so too has the fact that many African health systems are ill-equipped to meet the health-care needs of local communities affected by NCDs.2 Meanwhile, the quantity of clinical research done in Africa continues to increase,3 and carries with it unique ethical questions, especially relating to the amount of NCD medical care that ought to be provided for participants involved in this research. Many African research participants, whether enrolled in studies that investigate NCDs or other diseases, will inevitably have NCDs, but have little to no access to NCD health care in their communities. NCDs present a unique challenge because, contrary to acute infectious processes, the treatment of NCDs is not usually urgent and a lack of care will not lead to immediate morbidity or mortality. As such, do researchers in Africa have a responsibility to provide ancillary NCD services to research participants? In light of the third UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs, our aim is to provoke a dialogue regarding ancillary NCD services in the context of research in Africa. We believe that this dialogue can be guided by several lessons learned during the HIV epidemic and by a moral responsibility to provide ancillary care as articulated by Richardson.4