Serial number: 2025/August/217
Issued on: 15 August 2025
Deadline: 15 October 2025
The South-East Asia Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination in WHO South-East Asia Region (SEA-RVC). This “Call for experts” provides information about the verification commission, the expert profiles being sought, the process to express interest, and the process of selection.
Background
The Sixty-sixth meeting of the Regional Committee for WHO South-East Asia, in 2013, adopted the regional goal of measles elimination and rubella/congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) control by 2020. To provide impetus to the progress towards this goal, in 2014, the Regional Director announced Measles Elimination and Rubella/CRS Control by 2020 as one of the Flagship priorities for the Region. During the Seventy-second Session of the Regional Committee for WHO South-East Asia the goal of ‘measles elimination and rubella/CRS control by 2020’ was revised to ‘measles and rubella elimination by 2023’.
The Seventy-seventh session of the Regional Committee resolved to eliminate measles and rubella with interruption of indigenous transmission by 2026 and endorsed a new “Strategic Plan for measles and rubella elimination and sustenance in the WHO SE Asia Region: 2024–2028”.
The WHO South-East Asia Regional Verification Commission for measles elimination and rubella/CRS control (SEA-RVC) was established in 2016 to monitor progress towards and to verify elimination of measles and control of rubella/CRS in the Region. The name and the terms of reference (TORs) of the existing SEA-RVC was revised accordingly in 2019 after the Seventy-second Session of the Regional Committee for WHO South-East Asia the goal of ‘measles elimination and rubella/CRS control by 2020’ was revised to ‘measles and rubella elimination by 2023’. The revised name of the commission is “Regional Verification Commission for measles and rubella elimination (SEA-RVC)”.
The SEA-RVC will monitor progress towards and to verify elimination of measles and rubella in the Region and act as an advisory body to WHO in the field of measles and rubella elimination.
As of July 2025, four Member States have been verified for having eliminated measles and five member states have been verified to have eliminated rubella.
Functions of the Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination in WHO South-East Asia Region (SEA-RVC)
In its capacity as an advisory body to WHO, the SEA-RVC shall have the following functions:
- Normative function:
To review and establish criteria and procedures, including a plan of action, for monitoring progress and verifying the achievement of measles and rubella elimination nationally and for the Region. - Verification function:
- To verify achievement and maintenance of measles and rubella elimination by individual countries and the Region.
- To monitor progress toward measles and rubella elimination.
- Post-verification role in individual countries and the Region to sustain the achievement and prevent re-establishment of endemic measles or rubella virus transmission by implementing the recommended strategies.
- Advisory function:
To advise WHO on verification criteria, requirements, and procedures, including guidance on:- Collecting and analyzing data needed for verification, and.
- Proper documentation: To review, analyses the annual reports submitted by national verification committees and provide feedback to WHO.
- To conduct field visits when needed to monitor progress, verify evidence, and provide guidance to WHO.
- Provide advocacy recommendations to WHO:
SEA-RVC to advice WHO on raising awareness of and commitment to measles and rubella elimination, targeting high-ranking health officials, health professionals, partners and political leaders through multiple channels such as national health conferences, professional societies, scientific seminars, media, and personal contacts.
Operations of the Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination in WHO South-East Asia Region (SEA-RVC)
- Members of the SEA-RVC shall be appointed to serve for a period of three years and shall be eligible for reappointment and may not serve more than two consecutive terms. A Chairperson is eligible for reappointment as a member of the SEA-RVC, but is only permitted to serve as Chairperson for one term.
- The SEA-RVC shall normally meet [at least once] each year. However, WHO may convene additional meetings. SEA-RVC meetings may be held in person (at WHO headquarters in Geneva or another location, as determined by WHO) or virtually, via video or teleconference.
SEA-RVC meetings may be held in open and/or closed session, as decided by the Chairperson in consultation with WHO.- Open sessions: Open sessions shall be convened for the sole purpose of the exchange of non-confidential information and views and may be attended by Observers (as defined in paragraph III.3 below).
- Closed sessions: The sessions dealing with the formulation of recommendations and/or advice to WHO shall be restricted to the members of the SEA-RVC and essential WHO Secretariat staff.
- The quorum for SEA-RVC meetings shall be two thirds of the members.
- WHO may, at its sole discretion, invite external individuals from time to time to attend the open sessions of an advisory group, or parts thereof, as “observers”? Observers may be invited either in their personal capacity, or as representatives from a governmental institution / intergovernmental organization, or from a non-State actor. WHO will request observers invited in their personal capacity to complete a confidentiality undertaking and a declaration of interests form prior to attending a session of the advisory group. Invitations to observers attending as representatives from non-State actors will be subject to WHO internal due diligence and risk assessment including conflict of interest considerations in accordance with the Framework for engagement with non-State actors (FENSA). Observers invited as representatives may also be requested to complete a confidentiality undertaking. Observers shall normally attend meetings of the SEA-RVC at their own expense and be responsible for making all arrangements in that regard.
At the invitation of the Chairperson, observers may be asked to present their personal views and/or the policies of their organization. Observers will not participate in the process of adopting recommendations of the SEA-RVC. - The SEA-RVC may decide to establish smaller working groups (sub-groups of the SEA-RVC) to work on specific issues. Their deliberations shall take place via teleconference or video-conference. For these sub-groups, no quorum requirement will apply; the outcome of their deliberations will be submitted to the SEA-RVC for review at one of its meetings.
- SEA-RVC members are expected to attend meetings. If a member misses two consecutive meetings, WHO may end his/her appointment as a member of the SEA-RVC.
- Reports of each meeting and a yearly report shall be submitted by the SEA-RVC to WHO (the Regional Director, WHO SEARO). All recommendations from the SEA-RVC are advisory to WHO, who retains full control over any subsequent decisions or actions regarding any proposals, policy issues or other matters considered by the SEA-RVC.
- The SEA-RVC shall normally make recommendations by consensus. If, in exceptional circumstances, a consensus on a particular issue cannot be reached, minority opinions will be reflected in the meeting report.
- Active participation is expected from all SEA-RVC members, including in working groups, teleconferences, and interaction over email. SEA-RVC members may, in advance of SEA-RVC meetings, be requested to review meeting materials and to provide their views for consideration by the SEA-RVC.
- WHO shall determine the modes of communication by the SEA-RVC, including between WHO and the SEA-RVC members, and the SEA-RVC members among themselves.
- SEA-RVC members shall not speak on behalf of, or represent, the SEA-RVC or WHO to any third party.
Who can express interest?
The SEA-RVC will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to measles and rubella as well as disease elimination/eradication efforts.
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from interested individuals who have expertise in at least one of the following essential technical areas:
- International Expert Public Health
- International Expert Virologist/Immunologist
- International Expert Clinical medicine
- International Expert Pediatrics
The tenure of the member will be of three years with possibility of extension.
Experience:
- Post graduate degree from recognized institution related to one of the above technical areas
- A minimum of 10 years of working with immunization program at national and/or international levels with experience of elimination/eradication of vaccine preventable diseases.
Desirable
- Over 5 years of practical experience in implementing and/or advising on key areas of immunization program as well as elimination/eradication of vaccine preventable diseases including in the countries of WHO South-East Asia Region.
- Experience in implementing and/or advising on key areas of measles and rubella elimination program at national and/or international levels is desirable.
Language:
Fluency in English is required.
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the SEA-RVC, please submit the following documents by 15 October 2025, 4:30 pm (IST) at searivd@who.int using the subject line “Expression of interest for the SEA-RVC:
Application to contain the following:
- 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 updated 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 an 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 searivd@who.int well before the applicable deadline.