The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the Technical Advisory Group on Sexually Transmitted Infections. 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
Accelerating global efforts to reduce the burden of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as outlined in the Global Health Sector Strategy for HIV, Hepatitis and STIs 2022-2030, is essential to ending STIs as public health concern. Achieving these goals requires strong, adaptable health systems and integrated services supported by high-quality, evidence-based normative guidance.
In recent years, the STI innovation pipeline has expanded significantly, with new and emerging tools for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of STIs, alongside improvements to existing approaches. At the same time, there is growing demand for consolidated, user-friendly, and accessible guidance that maximizes public health impact.
In this context, WHO is convening a technical advisory group on sexually transmitted infections. Its purpose is to advise WHO on key priorities for the development of normative guidance, on essential facilitators that can accelerate introduction and scale-up of key innovations, and on technical support approaches to strengthen adoption and scale-up of WHO recommendations on STI prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Functions of the technical advisory group
- To advise WHO on priorities for the development and consolidation of normative guidance on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of STIs.
- To provide independent advice to WHO on gaps in normative guidance, products and technical support that, if addressed, could facilitate and accelerate innovation in the STI field.
- To advise WHO on opportunities and approaches for technical support that would strengthen the adoption, operationalization and scale-up of WHO recommendations on STI prevention, diagnosis and treatment at the country level.
- To provide WHO with up-to-date insights into the research and development pipeline related to STI prevention, diagnosis and treatment to anticipate future needs for normative guidance.
- To provide advice to WHO on engagement in public health activities and approaches related to STI prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Operations of the technical advisory group
Initial appointment to the technical advisory group is for three years, with the opportunity for renewal. The group will convene at least twice per year, with additional meetings scheduled at WHO’s discretion. Meeting may be conducted virtually (max 3 hours) or in person (usually 2-3 days each time). The technical advisory group may establish sub-groups to address specific technical issues between full meetings. All members are expected to actively prepare and participate in meetings. Advice will generally be adopted by consensus, with minority opinions documented when consensus cannot be reached. WHO will facilitate communication, provide secretariat, and retain full authority over publication and use of technical advisory group outputs.
Who can express interest?
The technical advisory group will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to sexually transmitted infections. Approximately 24 members may be selected.
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from:
Healthcare professionals, scientists, and healthcare regulators with expertise in prevention, diagnosis and/or treatment of sexually transmitted infections. This includes, but is not limited, to the following fields: health systems and public health, especially in low- and middle-income countries; sexual healthcare; genitourinary medicine; venereology; infectious diseases; medical microbiology; obstetrics and gynecology; pharmacology and pharmaceuticals; laboratory science; strategic information and data; diagnostic technology; vaccine technology; ethics, equity and human rights.
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the technical advisory group on sexually transmitted infections, please submit the following documents by 27 March 2026, 24:00 (midnight CET) to HTHPDT@who.int, using the subject line “Expression of interest for the technical advisory group on sexually transmitted infections”.
- 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 (including your nationality/ies) and
- A signed and completed Declaration of Interests (DOI) form for WHO Experts, available at Declaration of interests.
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 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 Dr Remco Peters ( petersr@who.int) well before the applicable deadline.