The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the Expert Review Group for the WHO-UNFPA Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Universal Health Coverage Learning by Sharing Portal.
This page provides information about the Expert Review Group, the profiles being sought, the process to express interest, and the process of selection.
Background
The WHO-UNFPA Learning by Sharing Portal was launched in July 2022. It highlights the critical work of perse stakeholders (i.e. policy-makers, UN agencies, donors, civil society, and implementers) on advancing access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights in the context of wider strategies and policies towards Universal Health Coverage. The aim is to build a rich repository of implementation stories covering a range of topics including digital health innovations, financing and reaching vulnerable and marginalized populations, that focus on the ‘how’ of advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights through targeted health systems interventions. The Learning by Sharing Portal is a resource for shared learning, advocacy and capacity strengthening at global, regional and country levels.
Since its launch in 2022, the Learning by Sharing Portal has issued two open calls for stories. The 2023 call for stories attracted over 100 submissions from all regions.
Composition and functions of the Expert Review Group
The Expert Review Group is a multi-stakeholder, cross-regional entity with expert representation from relevant UN agencies, civil society organisations, and experts in this area, including academia. It will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills, and experience relevant to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and health policy and health systems (including primary health care, health financing, health service delivery, digital health etc.)
It shall have up to 10 members, who shall serve in their personal capacities to represent the broad range of disciplines relevant to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Universal Health Coverage. Expert Review Group members will not be remunerated for their services.
The Expert Review Group will be comprised of:
- Convenors (WHO Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research and UNFPA).
- 10 members from the sectors described above.
The Expert Review Group has the following functions in support of the Learning by Sharing Portal:
- Providing strategic guidance and knowledge.
- Serving as peer-reviewers for content.
- Engaging with networks and organisations to encourage contributions to and use.
- Acting as ambassadors.
The Expert Review Group will meet virtually at least twice a year or as required by WHO-UNFPA Secretariat.
Who can express interest?
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from individuals of diverse backgrounds and identities including race, ethnicity, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, education, socioeconomic status, national origin, disability and neurodiversity.
Individuals from the following areas are encouraged to express interest:
- ministries of health
- civil society
- professional associations
- international organizations
- academic and research institutions
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the Expert Review Group, please complete the following online form by 9 August 2024 24:00h (midnight) Geneva time.
After submission, your expression of interest will be reviewed by WHO and UNFPA. Due to an expected high volume of interest, only selected individuals will be informed.
Important information about the selection processes
Members of the Expert Review 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 as a member, 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 Expert Review Group 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. 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-UNFPA to ask questions relating to the applicant’s experience and expertise and/or to assess whether the applicant meets the criteria for membership.
The selection of Expert Review Group members will be made by WHO-UNFPA in their sole discretion, taking into account the following (non-exclusive) criteria: relevant technical expertise; experience in international, regional and country work; communication skills; and ability to work constructively with people from different cultural backgrounds and orientations. The selection of members will also take account of the need for perse perspectives from different regions, especially from low and middle-income countries, and for gender balance.
If selected by WHO-UNFPA, proposed members will be sent an invitation letter.
WHO-UNFPA 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-UNFPA 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.
The names and a short biography of the selected members will be published on the WHO-UNFPA Learning by Sharing Portal.
