Serial number: 2024/January/143
Issued on: 16 February 2024
Deadline: 4 March 2024
The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the Regional Technical Advisory Group for Malaria and Kala-azar Elimination. 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 Regional kala-azar elimination initiative was launched by at the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region in 2005. The Region has made substantial progress since WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) constituted the Regional Technical Advisory Group (RTAG) for the kala-azar elimination in 2004. The reported new cases of kala-azar in the Region have reduced by 97% in the last decade and the Region now accounts for less than 20% of the global disease burden, compared to 70% in 2005. By the end of 2022, the last 1% of the implementation units in the Indian subcontinent is left to achieve the elimination threshold and in 2023, Bangladesh became the first country in the world to be validated by WHO for having eliminated kala-azar as a public health problem.
The last Regional Technical Advisory Group (RTAG) for kala-azar elimination was reconstituted in January 2020 for two years, which expired in December 2022. Subsequent reconstitution of this was put on hold as the need to expand the scope, revise the selection procedure and ensure inclusion of diverse expertise required for effective functioning of the RTAG was identified.
Meanwhile, malaria elimination in the Region also has shown outstanding progress. Despite being the second largest contributor to the global malaria burden and accounting for 33% of the estimated burden of malaria outside the African Region, the Region has been successful in reducing its malaria burden, cases and deaths by 78% and 79% in 2022, respectively, compared with 2010; these reductions representing the largest decline among all WHO Regions. The Maldives and Sri Lanka, having certified malaria free in 2015 and 2016 respectively, continue to maintain their malaria free status while three more countries – Bhutan, Nepal and Timor-Leste – are at the verge of achieving malaria elimination, with Timor-Leste, having completed 3 consecutive years of malaria free status, is now eligible for malaria-free certification.
Given the frequent co-endemicity of kala-azar and malaria and certain commonalities of strategies and interventions for malaria and kala-azar elimination, particularly surveillance and vector control, there is an increasing effort to facilitate integration, coordination and cross-learning among kala-azar and malaria elimination programmes in the Region. This includes facilitation of integrated programme review of vector borne diseases in Nepal in May 2023, organization of integrated vector management training at Regional and national level in recent years, and organization of the Meeting on cross-border collaboration for elimination of malaria, kala-azar and lymphatic filariasis along the India-Nepal international border in September 2023.
To this end, it is now proposed to expand the scope of the RTAG and constitute a new RTAG for malaria and kala-azar elimination.
RTAG on malaria and kala-azar elimination will play an important role in reviewing the Regional situation and progress on malaria and kala-azar elimination regularly and advising WHO on strategic directions, optimal strategies and policies for accelerating malaria and kala-azar elimination, including integrated approaches wherever feasible. The RTAG is the principal advisory group to WHO SEARO for the elimination of malaria and kala-azar in the WHO South-East Asia Region.
The Regional Technical Advisory Group (the “RTAG”) will act as an advisory body to WHO in this field.
Functions of the Regional Technical Advisory Group for Malaria and Kala-azar Elimination
In its capacity as an advisory body to WHO, the RTAG shall have the following functions:
- To review the situation of malaria and kala-azar and progress of national elimination programmes in the Region periodically.
- To advise WHO on optimal strategies, activities and policies for accelerating and sustaining elimination of malaria and kala-azar in Member States, including the use of appropriate and new tools and technologies and integrated approaches where feasible.
- To advise WHO on major gaps, issues and programme priorities that arise in the implementation of the recommended strategies and tactics in the Region.
- To advise WHO on priority research agenda for accelerating and sustaining elimination of malaria and kala-azar in the Region, including operational and implementation research.
- To advise WHO on innovative and sustainable mechanisms for improving cross-border collaboration.
Operations of the Regional Technical Advisory Group for Malaria and Kala-azar Elimination
Members of the RTAG shall be appointed to serve for a period of 3 years. The RTAG shall normally meet once in two years starting 2024. However, WHO may convene additional meetings, as required. RTAG meetings may be held in person, at WHO or another location as determined by WHO, or virtually via video or teleconference.
RTAG meetings may be held in open and/or closed session, as decided by the Chairperson in consultation with WHO.
Who can express interest?
The Regional Technical Advisory Group for Malaria and Kala-azar Elimination will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to surveillance, chemotherapy, entomology, diagnostics, epidemiology, statistics and research, social/behavioural science, programme management pertaining to malaria and kala-azar elimination. A maximum of 15 (fifteen) members may be selected.
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from:
Scientists, healthcare professionals and experts with experience in the following areas pertaining to malaria and kala-azar elimination:
- Disease epidemiology, surveillance and M & E
- Statistics, disease modelling and research
- Chemotherapy
- Laboratory and diagnostics
- Entomology and vector control
- Disease elimination
- Health financing
- Health systems and programme delivery including supply chain management; and/or
- Social and behavioural science, ethics, equity, human rights and gender in public health.
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the Regional Technical Advisory Group for Malaria and Kala-azar Elimination, please submit the following documents by 4 March 2024 (16.30 hrs IST) to SEA-NTD@who.int using the subject line “Expression of interest” for Regional Technical Advisory Group for Malaria and Kala-azar Elimination:
- 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 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 AG 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 SEA-NTD@who.int well before the applicable deadline.