OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME
The Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Management (EPM) advances global efforts to prevent and control existing and emerging infectious diseases by increasing access to evidence-based interventions; fostering impactful innovation; and leveraging technical, operational and strategic partnerships. In addition, EPM develops global mechanisms to facilitate coordination and collaboration between countries and multi-sectoral partners for catastrophic events of natural, accidntal or deliberate origin.
The Medical Countermeasures Unit holds multiple portfolios including supporting countries to prepare for pandemic medical countermeasure deployments through use of influenza medical countermeasures; the International Coordination Group on Vaccine Provision (ICG), the mechanisms that manages and coordinates provision of emergency vaccine supplies and antibiotics to countries during major outbreaks; the WHO BioHub which serves as the mechanism for voluntary sharing of biological materials with epidemic or pandemic potential; and the i-MCM-Net which is a network of networks that aims to ensure equitable and timely access to life-saving interventions and biological materials during an outbreak.
Given the increasing frequency and impact of pandemic and major epidemic-prone pathogens, there is an urgent need to better prepare for potential future pandemics and to bring coherence to the current medical countermeasures landscape, which is complex and fragmented across pathogens (COVID-19, mpox, ebola, pandemic influenza, novel coronaviruses, disease X and others) and tools (i.e. vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics). The MCM ecosystem is diverse, encompassing a broad and complex network that spans across distinct functional areas (such as research and development, manufacturing and procurement), geographical regions and phases along the health emergency cycle.
Access to medical countermeasures is one of 5 systems identified in many international reviews of the COVID-19 response and in the WHO Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience (HEPR) Framework. The other 4 systems are: surveillance, community protection, clinical care, and emergency coordination. The access to countermeasures subsystem (HEPR Subsystem C4) is a key element in the HEPR architecture as the ability to test, treat and protect communities during health emergencies depends on timely, sufficient and equitable access to medical countermeasures (MCM), such as diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, medical devices and medical equipment.
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES
Under the supervision of a technical expert in the respective area, the intern is assigned the agreed terms of reference:
Conduct literature reviews and mappings on novel medical countermeasure products and technologies;
Collect, collate, and analyze data and documents to inform manuscripts on the use of medical countermeasures to support epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response;
Assist in drafting, formatting and editing policy briefs, tool kits, guides/manuals, hand-outs, brochures and reports for use in ICG, BioHub, influenza ori-MCM-net meetings, workshops, or other events;
Assist in organizing workshops, meetings, conferences, events for the ICG, BioHub, influenza, and/or i-MCM-net; and
Participate in on-going unit projects related to the MCM unit’s work on vaccines, diagnostics, and/or therapeutics.
Learning objectives
The purpose of the WHO Internship Programme is to provide an enriching learning experience for students and recent graduates. The Learning Objectives outlined within each internship vacancy are a key component of the programme.
Within this internship, the intern will:
Understand the objectives of the MCM unit and EPM department
Communicate clearly about the importance of equitable access to medical countermeasures for epidemic and pandemic response
Understand the difference of work between headquarters, regional offices and country offices
Know how to conduct and review literature reviews and pipeline product mapping
Know how to assemble data, prepare a comprehensive analysis, and develop a summary report
Prepare background documents for meetings.
DURATION OF INTERNSHIP
24 weeks from 05 October 2026 to 19 March 2027.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education
Have completed at least three years of an undergraduate degree program of full-time studies at a university or equivalent institution prior to commencing the assignment; and be enrolled in a course of study at a university or equivalent institution leading to a formal qualification (applicants who have already graduated may also qualify for consideration provided that they apply to the internship within eighteen months after completion of their formal qualification) in the area of medicine, biology, bioinformatics, microbiology, virology, biochemistry, medical sciences, information sciences, statistics, public health or related field.
Skills
Core competencies:
Teamwork
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Communication
All interns should be able to demonstrate the following skills in line with the WHO core competencies:
Communicating effectively orally and in writing
Showing willingness to learn from mistakes
Producing and delivering quality results
Working collaboratively with team members
In addition, interns need to be familiar with commonly used computer programmes, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint. A knowledge of specialized computer programmes, for example, statistical software such as R or XLStat may be an advantage.
Experience
Experience in scientific research and writing, statistical analysis, modeling and/or in drafting reports
Experience in the subject area through academic work or research (public health, emergency preparedness, infectious diseases and pharmaceutical measures
Field and/or developing country experience
More specific experience such as specialized computer programmes.
Languages
Essential: Expert knowledge of English.
Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of French. Intermediate knowledge of other UN languages.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Interns do not receive a salary. They do however receive a living allowance. The amount of living allowance is different in each duty station. The amount also depends on any other external financial support received by the intern (grant, scholarships, etc.) and whether their permanent residence is in the duty station of the internship. In Geneva, for interns with permanent residence in the duty station, the maximum amount of the allowance provided by WHO is 739 CHF per month. For interns whose permanent residence is outside of the duty station, the maximum amount is 1680 CHF per month. The exact amount of the living allowance will be calculated for each intern, after selection, based on a legal financial disclosure form that the individual will complete. In addition, all interns in Geneva will receive daily lunch vouchers for meal expenses (20 CHF per working day). WHO also provides all interns with accident and medical insurance coverage.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Please note that internships at WHO are very competitive and only a small number of applicants will be accepted every year. Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
Living abroad is expensive and finding accommodation can be challenging. All intern candidates should be aware of these factors before they consider applying for a WHO Internship.
If selected for a WHO Internship, candidates will be required to provide certified copies of proof of enrolment in an eligible course of studies, a completed WHO medical certificate of fitness for work, and the contact details for reference checks.
WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter into practice.
WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.
The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits and employs staff regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.
The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its workforce. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply.
Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to reasonableaccommodation@who.int
WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Department of Staff Health and Wellbeing (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please contact SHW directly at shws@who.int.