Note: Thank you for your interest. This call is now closed and we are no longer accepting applications.
Background
The WHO Health and Migration was established in 2020 and is now situated within the Healthier Populations Division. All of the WHO Health and Migration’s work is framed by the following priorities identified in the WHO Global Action Plan on promoting the health of refugees and migrants (GAP):
- Priority 1. Promote the health of refugees and migrants through a mix of short-term and long-term public health interventions;
- Priority 2. Promote continuity and quality of essential health care, while developing, reinforcing and implementing occupational health and safety measures;
- Priority 3. Advocate the mainstreaming of refugee and migrant health into global, regional and country agendas and the promotion of: refugee-sensitive and migrant sensitive health policies and legal and social protection; the health and well-being of refugee and migrant women, children and adolescents; gender equality and empowerment of refugee and migrant women and girls; and partnerships and intersectoral, intercountry and interagency coordination and collaboration mechanisms;
- Priority 4. Enhance capacity to tackle the social determinants of health and to accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including universal health coverage;
- Priority 5. Strengthen health monitoring and health information systems.
- Priority 6. Support measures to improve evidence-based health communication and to counter misperceptions about migrant and refugee health
WHO Health and Migration is forming an expert technical advisory group for the period 2024-2026 to support the implementation of the GAP on promoting the health of refugees and migrants and other related activities. The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) will play a key role in achieving the five core functions of WHO Health and Migration, which are aligned with the GAP and the WHO GPW14 objectives to promote, provide, and protect health. These functions particularly focus on reducing health inequities by addressing the social, economic, environmental, and other determinants of health, supporting countries in developing evidence-informed policies across all levels of government, and adapting public health measures to meet the health needs of populations such as migrants and displaced people.
During 2024-2026 the TAG will:
- Advise WHO Health and Migration on all technical areas, with a focus on implementing and monitoring the GAP, and implementing the Global research agenda on health, migration and displacement and associated Global Research Network on health, migration and displacement.
- Participate, according to area of expertise, in the development of further norms, standards, research products, and technical guidance on DHM priority areas such as health, migration and displacement in the context of: climate change, UHC/PHC, health financing, vaccination, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and health system strengthening.
- Provide technical advice on global, regional and national activities, high level events, and technical assistance initiatives, such as: the Global Consultation on the Health of Refugees and Migrants; the national health system reviews; the Global School on refugee and migrant health; the Global Evidence Series on Health and Migration (GEHM).
Functions of the Technical Advisory Group on health, migration and displacement
The technical advisory group is being formed to support the implementation of the GAP and other activities related to improving the health of migrants, refugees and other displaced populations carried out by WHO DHM, on the core thematic areas of:
- Providing global leadership and high-level advocacy on the health of migrants, refugees and other displaced populations;
- Providing technical assistance to countries and partners;
- Setting norms and standards and promoting research;
- Monitoring trends, documenting progress and developing tools.
- Multi-lateral, inter-regional collaboration and strategic partnerships.
The TAG will have thematic sub-groups focusing on priority areas. Over the next two years, it will support DHM’s work in technical assistance, research prioritization, implementation research, data, policy, and normative guidance in the areas of universal health coverage, healthier populations, and health emergencies, with a focus on topics such as:
- Migrant- and refugee-inclusive universal health coverage, primary health care, and health financing;
- Equitable access to and use of vaccines among migrants, refugees, and other displaced populations;
- The health of migrants, refugees, and displaced populations in the context of climate change; and
- Non-communicable diseases and communicable diseases, migration, and displacement.
Operations of the Technical Advisory Group on health, migration and displacement
Members of the TAG will participate in monthly online advisory and/or working group meetings from 2024 to 2026. There will be one in-person meeting each year, with additional interim online meetings as needed. The working language of the group will be English.
Who can express interest?
The TAG will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to the field of health, migration and displacement, specializing in the following topics: universal health coverage, health emergencies, and social determinants of health. Particular expertise on the following topics relating to health, migration and displacement is also sought: health system strengthening, climate change; vaccination; non-communicable diseases; communicable diseases; UHC/PHC; health financing.
Approximately 30 members may be selected. WHO welcomes expressions of interest from:
- academic experts,
- operational actors,
- individuals from policy and public health institutes across all WHO regions.
Experts will be invited to join the TAG based on:
- Contributions to the field of health, migration and forced displacement, in research, policy or practice;
- Active work history in the field of health, migration and displacement, in research, policy or practice, for at least 10 years, at the national, regional and/or international level;
- Technical expertise in at least one of DHM’s priority areas outlined above.
Applicants may have expertise in the following areas, among others: public health, medicine, sociology/medical anthropology, health systems, health promotion, health policy, political science, economics, health economics, epidemiology, legal and human rights, gender.
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the TAG on health, migration and displacement, please submit the following documents by 24:00 Geneva time (midnight CET) 17th September 2024 to healthmigration@who.int using the subject line “Expression of interest for the Technical Advisory Group on health, migration and displacement:”
- A cover letter, indicating your motivation to apply and how you satisfy the selection criteria. Please note that, if selected, membership will be in a personal capacity; therefore, do not use the letterhead or other identification of your employer;
- Your curriculum vitae; and
- A signed and completed Declaration of Interests (DOI) form for WHO Experts, available at https://www.who.int/about/ethics/declarations-of-interest.
After submission, your expression of interest will be reviewed by WHO. Due to an expected high volume of interest, only selected individuals will be informed.
Important information about the selection processes and conditions of appointment
Members of WHO advisory groups (AGs) must be free of any real, potential or apparent conflicts of interest. To this end, applicants are required to complete the WHO Declaration of Interests for WHO Experts, and the selection as a member of a AG is, amongst other things, dependent on WHO determining that there is no conflict of interest or that any identified conflicts could be appropriately managed (in addition to WHO’s evaluation of an applicant’s experience, expertise and motivation and other criteria).
All AG members will serve in their individual expert capacity and shall not represent any governments, any commercial industries or entities, any research, academic or civil society organizations, or any other bodies, entities, institutions or organizations. They are expected to fully comply with the Code of Conduct for WHO Experts (https://www.who.int/about/ethics/declarations-of-interest). AG members will be expected to sign and return a completed confidentiality undertaking prior to the beginning of the first meeting.
At any point during the selection process, telephone interviews may be scheduled between an applicant and the WHO Secretariat to enable WHO to ask questions relating to the applicant’s experience and expertise and/or to assess whether the applicant meets the criteria for membership in the relevant AG.
The selection of members of the AGs will be made by WHO in its sole discretion, taking into account the following (non-exclusive) criteria: relevant technical expertise; experience in international and country policy work; communication skills; and ability to work constructively with people from different cultural backgrounds and orientations. The selection of AG members will also take account of the need for diverse perspectives from different regions, especially from low and middle-income countries, and for gender balance.
If selected by WHO, proposed members will be sent an invitation letter and a Memorandum of Agreement. Appointment as a member of an AG will be subject to the proposed member returning to WHO the countersigned copy of these two documents.
WHO reserves the right to accept or reject any expression of interest, to annul the open call process and reject all expressions of interest at any time without incurring any liability to the affected applicant or applicants and without any obligation to inform the affected applicant or applicants of the grounds for WHO's action. WHO may also decide, at any time, not to proceed with the establishment of the AG, disband an existing TAG or modify the work of the AG.
WHO shall not in any way be obliged to reveal, or discuss with any applicant, how an expression of interest was assessed, or to provide any other information relating to the evaluation/selection process or to state the reasons for not choosing a member.
WHO may publish the names and a short biography of the selected individuals on the WHO internet.
AG members will not be remunerated for their services in relation to the AG or otherwise. Travel and accommodation expenses of AG members to participate in AG meetings will be covered by WHO in accordance with its applicable policies, rules and procedures.
The appointment will be limited in time as indicated in the letter of appointment.
If you have any questions about this “Call for experts”, please write to healthmigration@who.int well before the applicable deadline, with the subject line: “Queries: Technical Advisory Group on health, migration and displacement.”