The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members one of the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Economics for Environment, Climate Change and Health. 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
Exposure to environmental, climatic and occupational risk factors causes an estimated 13.3 million deaths globally each year. The economic recovery from the ongoing crises of the Covid-19 pandemic, violent conflicts, environmental pollution and anthropogenic climate change must be healthy, green and fair. Countries, sub-national governments and international organizations are making significant efforts to reduce environmental pollution, curb climate change, ensure decent work, and design economic stimuli while ensuring health for all. The economic case for investments in interventions addressing environmental, climatic and occupational risk factors comprises a heath economic argument, as well as economic co-benefits within and across the environment, climate and labour sectors.
The World Health Organization and its Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health (ECH) look to promote a healthier environment, intensify primary action and influence public policies in all sectors, to address the root causes of environmental threats to health. ECH develops and promotes preventive policies and interventions based on an in-depth, scientific analysis of the evidence base for environmental determinants of human health. ECH is guided and mandated by the WHO Global Strategy on Health, Environment and Climate Change.
ECH has established a new and dedicated work stream of environmental health economic evaluation and analysis. This work stream seeks to develop a standard approach for conducting and reporting environmental health economic evaluation and analysis, produce a set of official environmental health economic estimates, and deliver a case for global investment in environment, climate change and health. This will include the conduct of global cost-benefit analyses of selected intervention packages, such as improved infrastructure for water, sanitation and hygiene; cleaner cooking stoves; phase out of selected fossil fuel subsidies; and regulation of working time to healthy limits.
Functions of the Technical Advisory Group on Economics for Environment, Climate Change and Health
- To provide independent evaluation of the scientific technical and strategic aspects of the economics for environment, climate change and health, with a focus on the global Investment Case for Health, Environment and Climate Change;
- To recommend priority topics related to economic evaluation and analysis for environment, climate change and health for consideration within the Organization and/or relevant technical unit;
- To advise WHO on its economic evaluation and analysis for environment, climate change and health, especially as it relates to the global Investment Case for Health, Environment and Climate Change; and
- To review and make recommendations to WHO on disease and intervention priorities, economic models and estimates (e.g., of cost of inaction, intervention costs, economic benefits, and cost-benefits), and economic arguments for interventions addressing environmental, climatic and occupational risk factors.
Operations of the Technical Advisory Group on Economics for Environment, Climate Change and Health
The Technical Advisory Group on Economics for Environment, Climate Change and Health. All AG meetings will be held virtually, but interim teleconferences with selected group members may also be required. The WHO Secretariat will share products with the AG by email for the members to review and provide advice in a timely manner (to be specified for each task). The working language of the group will be English.
Who can express interest?
The Technical Advisory Group on Economics for Environment, Climate Change and Health will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to health and environmental economics. Approximately 15 individual experts may be selected.
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from scientists, healthcare professionals and healthcare regulators with expertise in the following areas:
- health economics
- environmental economics
- climate change economics
- labour economics
- public financing
- investment cases
- cost-benefit analysis
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the Technical Advisory Group on Economics for Environment, Climate Change and Health , please submit the following documents by 29 March 2023 to pegaf@who.int using the subject line “Expression of interest for the Technical Advisory Group on Economics for Environment, Climate Change and Health“:
- 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 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 pegaf@who.int well before the applicable deadline.
Deadline: 29 March 2023
