The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the Regional Commission for Certification of poliomyelitis eradication in Western Pacific Region. 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
In 1995, the Western Pacific Regional Committee (WPR/RC46.7) requested the WHO Regional Director to establish a Regional Commission for Certification (RCC) of poliomyelitis eradication with the responsibility to review the documentation provided by the national certification committees and, if appropriate, eventually certify the Western Pacific Region as polio-free.
Functions of the Regional Commission for Certification of poliomyelitis eradication in Western Pacific
In its capacity as an advisory body to WHO the Regional Commission for Certification of poliomyelitis eradication in Western Pacific Region (RCC WPR) shall have the following functions:
- review annual progress reports from each country or other areas on maintaining wild poliovirus-free status and validating absence of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses, including progress toward poliovirus laboratory containment, to communicate feedback on findings and required actions to the Regional Director (WHO secretariat);
- regularly review recommendations from advisory groups (e.g. SAGE and TAG) and consider their relevance for achieving global and regional polio eradication goals;
- bring relevant certification/validation issues to the attention of WHO;
- advise WHO on NCCs to be able to function as an active oversight body (e.g. in terms of adequate membership, frequency of meetings and definition of responsibilities);
- conduct site visits, as required, to review and verify the status of activities to maintain wild poliovirus-free status and validate absence of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses in specific countries, and advise WHO on how to advocate for the implementation of RCC recommendations;
- advise WHO on reaffirming the certification of wild poliovirus elimination and validation of the absence of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses in the Western Pacific Region and report to WHO towards global certification of polio eradication, according to criteria established by the GCC.
Operations of the Regional Commission for Certification of poliomyelitis eradication in Western Pacific
The RCC WPR shall normally meet at least once each year. However, WHO may convene additional meetings. RCC WPR meetings may be held in person (at the Regional Office for the Western Pacific in Manila or another location, as determined by WHO) or virtually, via video or teleconference. The working language of the group will be English.
Who can express interest?
Regional Commission for Certification of poliomyelitis eradication in Western Pacific will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to contribute to deliberations on the regional eradication of poliomyelitis (public health, virology, epidemiology and/or neurology). Approximately 10 members may be selected.
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from individuals with expertise and experience in the following areas related to vaccine-preventable diseases and vaccines:
- global and/or regional (Western Pacific) poliomyelitis eradication strategies,
- vaccine-preventable diseases prevention and surveillance;
- epidemiology;
- vaccinology;
- immunology;
- paediatrics;
- neurology;
- polio laboratory;
- laboratory containment of poliovirus.
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the RCC WPR, please submit the following documents by 23 February 2026 at 24:00h (midnight) Manila time to [email protected] using the subject line “Expression of interest for the Regional Commission for Certification of poliomyelitis eradication in Western Pacific”:
- 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 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 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 [email protected] well before the applicable deadline.