WHO outlines a call for experts from academia, non-State actors, and civil society organizations, acting in their personal capacity and working in the field of health, migration, and displacement to support the validation process of the WHO training course on building the capacity of health care workers providing care to refugees and migrants currently under development.
Applications require a Curriculum Vitae, a cover letter, and a signed Declaration of Interests form. Applications should be submitted by no later than 7 November 2023 24:00 (midnight) Geneva time.
Background
The Department of Health and Migration at the World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts in the field of health and migration to serve as members of the Technical Advisory Group for the validation of the upcoming WHO training course on "Building the Capacity of Health Care Workers Providing Care to Refugees and Migrants."
In 2021, WHO launched the Refugee and migrant health: Global competency standards for health workers (the Standards), which set the benchmark for the health workforce in providing people-centred, quality care to refugees and migrants. Developed in conjunction with the main publication, the Knowledge Guide and Curriculum Guide of the Standards provide guidance for educators, health workers, health organizations, and institutions to design and incorporate learning material that supports the attainment of the knowledge, skills and attitudes required while providing health services to refugees and migrants. The Standards are aligned with the WHO Global Competency Framework for Universal Health Coverage, which uses a lens of primary health care, and builds upon the efforts by health workers to provide the same level of quality care for refugees and migrants as they do for host communities. As such, the Standards outline expected behaviours of health workers in delivering quality care to refugees and migrants, which can be used to inform the outcomes of education programmes aligned with standards for care.
As part of efforts to support the application and use of the Standards in diverse settings at country and global level, the WHO's Department of Health and Migration is developing the training course "Building the Capacity of Health Care Workers Providing Care to Refugees and Migrants." Recognizing the vital role played by a robust health care in attaining universal health coverage for all, including refugees and migrants, the training course aims to contribute to building a well-trained and competent workforce, adept at addressing the unique health challenges within the context of migration and displacement.
The training course uses as a foundation the specific and measurable behaviours within the Standards to equip those directly involved in delivering health services with the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to serve refugee and migrant populations effectively.
Purpose
The purpose of this call is to invite experts form academia, non-State actors and civil society organizations to attend one-to-two-hour online sessions as part of the consultation process for the WHO training course "Building the capacity of health care workers providing care to refugees and migrants." During the consultation sessions, members of the Technical Advisory Group will be asked to provide insights to update and strengthen the training course material. Ensuring the course remains aligned with the needs of refugees and migrants, and is consistent with the most recent best practices in competency-based education, trainings for health care workers, and methods to improve competencies for culturally-sensitive health services is the primary aim of this review process.
Submissions
Submissions are being sought from experts across all six WHO regions who have experience working with organizations in field of health and migration or with migrants and/or displaced populations and who are non-State actors, including the following: non-governmental organizations (NGOs) at both local, national, or international level; civil society groups; faith-based organizations; professional organizations; academic/research institutions. Priority will be given to those experts who have experience working with organizations who are led by migrants or refugees, have refugees or migrants within their governance structure, or who have staff who identify as refugees or migrants.
The application process will close at midnight Geneva time (CET) on 7 November 2023. To express your interest please submit the following documents to healthmigration@who.int using the subject line “Expression of interest for the Standards training course Technical Advisory Group”:
- A cover letter, indicating your motivation to apply and how you satisfy the selection criteria. Please note that, if selected, participation 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 and agreement with signed the Code of Conduct for WHO Experts here.
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
Experts will be invited to join the Technical Advisory Group based on their expertise and contributions to the field of refugee and migrant health and must have been actively working in the field of health and migration for at least 10 years, at the national, regional and/or international level.
Participants in the Technical Advisory Group 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 to take part in the review process is dependent on WHO determining that there is no conflict of interest or that any identified conflicts can be appropriately managed.
All participants 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. Members will be expected to sign and return a completed confidentiality undertaking prior to the beginning of the first session of the Technical Advisory Group.
The selection of participants of the sessions of the Technical Advisory Group 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 participants will also take account of the need for diverse perspectives from different regions, especially from low and middle-income countries, and for gender balance.
Contact
For further information or questions, please contact the WHO Department of Health and Migration team at healthmigration@who.int mentioning in the subject line: TAG-HM-CS