Call for Experts

UHPR Advisory Group

Issued on: 02/09/21

Deadline: 17/09/21

The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the Universal health and preparedness review (UHPR) advisory group. This “Call for experts” provides information about the advisory group in question, the expert profiles being sought, the process to express interest, and the process of selection.
 

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that no country was fully prepared to deal with a pandemic of such scale, speed, severity and impact. A new mechanism, the Universal Health and Preparedness Review (UHPR), has been proposed as means to increase accountability and transparency among Member States in gap identification and capacity building for better health emergency preparedness. The peer-review nature of the envisioned UHPR ensures that key issues identified will be acted upon at the highest political levels of government and that relevant recommendations will be followed up upon and monitored on regular basis.

To guide the technical basis for the UHPR, a global group of technical experts would be convened to support WHO in the development process of the methodology in assessing preparedness status, including a set of common indicators to be used by all Member States undergoing the review process.
 

Functions of the UHPR advisory group

To provide expert inputs on the technical content of the UHPR, including draft processes for field testing / piloting, and ensure that it is evidence-based, logical and appropriate to measure the status of health emergency preparedness in countries.
 

Operations of the UHPR advisory group

Operations of the UHPR advisory group will be held through online consultations, email and virtual meetings. WHO would provide secretariat support to the group of experts. The UHPR advisory group shall normally meet at least three times each year. However, WHO may convene additional meetings. The UHPR advisory group meetings may be held in person (at WHO headquarters in Geneva or another location, as determined by WHO) or virtually, via video or teleconference.

Interim teleconferences may be required of the members. The working language of the group will be English.
 

Who can express interest?

The UHPR advisory group will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to health emergency preparedness. Approximately twelve experts may be selected.

WHO welcomes expressions of interest from:

• Scientists, technical experts, healthcare professionals and policy makers with expertise in the following areas:
  
  • Peer-review mechanisms at the multilateral level
  • UHC, Health systems and healthier populations and their contribution to preparedness
  • Pandemic preparedness and all-hazards risk management
  • International Health Regulations and health security
  • Ethics, equity, human rights and gender in public health.
     

Submitting your expression of interest

To register your interest in being considered for the UHPR advisory group, please submit the following documents by 17th September 2021, 24:00h (midnight) Geneva time to chungongs@who.int using the subject line “Expression of interest for the UHPR advisory group:

• 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 Declaration of Interests (DOI) form for WHO Experts.

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 (Code of Conduct for WHO Experts). 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 a 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 chungongs@who.int well before the applicable deadline.