Serial number: 2023/May/104
Issued on: 15 May 2023
Deadline: 2 June 2023
The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the WHO South-East Asia Regional Certification Commission for Poliomyelitis Eradication (SEA-RCCPE). This “Call for experts” provides information about the SEA-RCCPE, the expert profiles being sought, the process to express interest, and the process of selection.
Background
The Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly noted the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) Polio Eradication Strategy 2022-2026. The two goals of the new GPEI strategy are:
Goal One: to permanently interrupt poliovirus transmission in the final WPV-endemic countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan,
Goal Two: to stop circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) transmission and prevent outbreaks in non-endemic countries.
The South-East Asia Region of WHO was certified polio-free on 27 March 2014 and has since remained free of all wild polioviruses. However, there remains a risk of importation of wild polioviruses from current endemic countries and of circulating vaccine derived polioviruses emergence and/or importation from regions with ongoing outbreaks.
The WHO South-East Asia Regional Certification Commission for Poliomyelitis Eradication (SEA-RCCPE) provides independent oversight to the polio eradication programme in the SE Asia Region and advises WHO on the status of polio-eradication in the Region.
The SEA-RCCPE will act as an advisory body to WHO in the field of polio eradication.
Functions of the SEA-RCCPE
In its capacity as an advisory body to WHO, the SEA-RCCPE shall have the following functions:
- Review annual documentation from each Member State on maintaining wild poliovirus free status and current status of vaccine-derived polioviruses, including progress towards poliovirus laboratory containment, as per requirements of ‘Polio Eradication Strategy 2022-2026’ and guidance provided by the Global Commission for the Certification of Eradication of Poliomyelitis (GCC) from time to time and report the findings and required actions to the Regional Director (WHO Secretariat);
- Review recommendations from advisory groups such as Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), SE Asia Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group (SEAR-ITAG) and consider their relevance for achieving global and regional polio-eradication goals;
- Conduct site visits as necessary to review and/or verify the data and the status of polio eradication activities in selected Member States;
- Inform the WHO on the status of polio eradication activities, calling attention to unresolved issues;
- Inform the Regional Director of any action required on the part of the WHO Secretariat to ensure that polio-free certification of the WHO South-East Asia Region will be sustained;
- Advise WHO on the risks to wild poliovirus-free status and risks of outbreaks of circulating vaccine derived polioviruses and recommend actions for mitigation of these risks;
- Review the process and outcome of the inventory of poliovirus (PV) stocks and poliovirus potentially infectious materials (PIM) and their containment in secure facilities in the Region as per Global Action Plan IV;
- Review the compliance of facilities storing PV and PIM to the requirements of Containment Certification Scheme (CCS) and guidance provided by Containment Working Group (CWG);
- As a pre-requisite to global certification of poliomyelitis eradication, advise WHO on endorsing the maintenance of wild poliovirus-free status of the South-East Asia Region and provide any evidence requested by WHO in the interim;
- To advise WHO on the certification of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus free status of the Region as per criteria established by the GCC and to regularly report on cVDPVs as requested.
Operations of the SEA-RCCPE
The SEA-RCCPE will be expected to meet annually, for 2-3 days, at WHO-SEARO headquarters in New Delhi, India or another location, as determined by WHO. However, based on certification requirements WHO may convene additional meetings that may be held in person or virtually, via video or teleconference. The working language of the SEA-RCCPE will be English. Reports of each meeting and a yearly report shall be submitted by the SEA-RCCPE to WHO (the Regional Director, WHO SEARO).
Who can express interest?
The SEA-RCCPE will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to polio eradication. Approximately three members may be selected.
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from public health experts with expertise in the following areas
- Polio eradication
- Epidemiology
- Communicable disease surveillance with focus on polio surveillance
- Virologists with focus on poliovirus
- Immunization
- Paediatrics/clinical experts
- Data experts with focus on polio, epidemiology and immunization
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the [name of the advisory group], please submit the following documents by [2 June 2023, 24:00h (midnight) New Delhi, India time] to [email protected] using the subject line “Expression of interest for the SEA-RCCPE:
- 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 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 SEA-RCCPE 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 SEA-RCCPE 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 SEA-RCCPE 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). SEA-RCCPE 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 SEA-RCCPE.
The selection of members of the SEA-RCCPE 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 SEA-RCCPE 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 SEA-RCCPE 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 SEA-RCCPE, disband existing SEA-RCCPE or modify the work of the SEA-RCCPE.
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.
SEA-RCCPE members will not be remunerated for their services in relation to the SEA-RCCPE or otherwise. Travel and accommodation expenses of SEA-RCCPE members to participate in SEA-RCCPE 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 [email protected] well before the applicable deadline.