WHO Academy
"The WHO Academy is an investment in health, education, knowledge and technology, but ultimately it’s an investment in people, and in a healthier, safer, fairer future."
- Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO
Learn how to build a healthier world
The WHO Academy is the World Health Organization’s learning centre for anybody who strives to improve health.
Now under development, the Academy will offer online and in-person courses to millions of health workers and others around the world.
Each Academy learner will be guided on a personalised, lifelong journey towards achieving their learning goals and improving health in their communities.
Putting health guidance into practice
For more than 70 years, WHO has been producing and disseminating safe, reliable, evidence-based health guidance. Implementation of this guidance has been too slow. Currently, no country is on track to achieve all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) health targets.
The WHO Academy seeks to change this by ensuring that health workers, WHO and UN staff, policy makers and other public health practitioners can access up-to-date, personalised learning, when and where they need it.
Transforming health learning
WHO Academy learning experiences are expertly designed, applying the latest adult-learning science and making use of new technologies to ensure that learners can and do apply their new competencies outside of the classroom.
Achievement and behaviour change will be rewarded with verifiable digital micro-credentials, enabling learners to advance their careers, and ensuring that learning in health is truly lifelong.
Reaching learners where they are
Most learners will access the Academy’s courses online. The Academy’s bespoke platform will be available via desktop and mobile devices, in low-bandwidth settings and with downloadable, offline options. Many courses will use a blended approach, combining in-person and online learning
The Lyon Hub
The WHO Academy hub is a nine-storey learning facility currently under construction in Lyon, France. When it opens in 2024, the hub will offer innovative spaces for in-person and distance learning, including a world-class health emergencies simulation centre and custom-built distance and hybrid-learning classrooms.
On 27 September 2021, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom and President of France Emmanuel Macron joined to commemorate the groundbreaking of the WHO Academy hub.
The support of France
France is the lead investor for the Academy’s development, having committed more than € 120 million to support its establishment and infrastructure. This achievement is possible thanks to the collective actions, commitment and financial support of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, the Lyon Metropole and the City of Lyon.