Deadline: 20 March 2022
The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the Technical Advisory Group on International Herbal Pharmacopoeia (TAG-IHP). 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 WHO Technical Advisory Group on International Herbal Pharmacopoeia (TAG-IHP) is composed of technical experts who possess expertise and extensive experience in pharmacopeia review, drafting and/or applications in terms of herbs/herbal products. The TAG-IHP provides independent technical advices and recommendations to WHO for the development of the IHP which was initiated at present and will be ongoing in the long term.
Functions of the TAG-IHP
In its capacity as an advisory body to WHO, the TAG-IHP shall have the following functions:
- To review and make recommendations to WHO on the draft outline of the IHP;
- To provide independent evaluation and review on the selection criteria of laboratories/institutions for taking the drafting task and other relevant work of the IHP;
- To provide evaluation and recommend priorities on the list of herbs/herbal materials, herbal extracts/preparations and finished herbal products proposed in the IHP;
- To periodically review and comment on the task plans on experimental designs and protocols of the monographs, general test/analytical methods and etc. that drafted by the selected laboratories/institutions;
- To review and comment on the General Notices, General Chapters, Appendices, and other chapters drafted by experts/professionals in the IHP;
- To review and make recommendations to WHO on regarding any inclusions to the IHP;
- To provide independent review and make recommendations on the draft of outline and revised version of IHP;
- To provide technical advices and recommendations to WHO when any related and ad hoc issues arise during the development of the IHP.
Operations of the TAG-IHP
The WHO TAG-IHP shall normally be expected to meet once each year. However, WHO may convene additional meetings. TAG-IHP meetings may be held in person (at WHO headquarters in Geneva or another location, as determined by WHO) or virtually, via video or teleconference. Meetings will usually last between 2-3 days each time.
TAG-IHP meetings may be held in open and/or closed session, as decided by the Chairperson in consultation with the WHO.
(a) 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.
(b) Closed sessions: The sessions dealing with the formulation of recommendations and/or advice to WHO shall be restricted to the members of the AG and essential WHO Secretariat staff.
Interim teleconferences may be required of the members. The working language of the group will be English.
Who can express interest?
The TAG-IHP will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and extensive experience relevant to pharmacopeia review, drafting and/or applications in terms of herbs/herbal products. Approximately 30 members may be selected.
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from:
- Experts in one or more of the following areas:
- pharmacopeia review and development and/or related applications in terms of herbs/herbal products.
- at least 10 years’ work experience in the disciplines related to herbal pharmacopoeia standards or herbal quality standards such as botany, pharmacognosy, phytochemistry, analytical chemistry, molecular biology, herbal material processing or phytopharmaceutical manufacturing.
- The following candidates will be prioritized for consideration:
- Experts from the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on traditional medicine or WHO TCI collaborating centers, who are familiar with pharmacopoeia and herbal quality standards;
- Members in the current session of national/regional pharmacopoeia commission/committee with respect to herbs/herbal products; and
- Experts who have made significant contributions to national/regional pharmacopoeias in terms of herbs/herbal products or herbal quality.
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the WHO TAG-IHP, please submit the following documents by 20 March 2022, 21:00 CET (Geneva time) to trm@who.int using the subject line “Expression of interest for the TAG-IHP”.
- 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.
Please note that those who submitted your application documents for Expert Committee of the International Herbal Pharmacopoeia at the open call dated on 20 October 2020 will be automatically included in the candidate list, however you are still encouraged to update and complete your documents according to the new requirement above.
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 web site.
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 trm@who.int well before the applicable deadline.