Global Health Leadership Fellowships [WHO/GPE], 11/98

Call for Applications for Global Health Leadership Fellowships Deadline: 30 November 1998

With financial support from the UN Foundation and the Rockefeller Foun- dation, the World Health Organization has established a Global Health Leadership (GHL) Fellowship Programme designed to enable professionals to contribute to the work of the Organization, and to benefit from their interaction with WHO, for a period of up to two (2) years. The Global Programme on Evidence for Health Policy (GPE) invites applica- tions for the award of GHL Fellowships tenable in GPE.

GPE was established by the Cabinet of WHO in July 1998 to help the Or- ganization and its Member States identify and pursue policies that pro- mote equity, quality and efficiency. Its creation recognised that a core function of WHO must be to provide an objective assessment of the various types of evidence which should influence health policy. The technical tasks of GPE are to develop the methods, tools and standards required to collect and assess this evidence; to develop information bases collating the evidence including projections over time; to ana- lyse the determinants of health processes; and to make recommendations about the implications for health policy. This work will be done in collaboration with the technical programmes of WHO and Regional and country offices.

These tasks will be applied to three broad subject areas:

1. Epidemiology and Disease Burden: Assessment and projection of the burden of disease and risk factors; measurement of inequalities in health status and the burden of disease in the poor; assessment of health-related quality of life and health state preferences; develop- ment and updating of international classification systems; and provi- sion of an epidemiological information service.

2. Choosing Interventions: Assessment of the effectiveness and costs of interventions; determinants of gaps between efficacy and effectiveness; variations in quality of care as they relate to health outcomes; the economic burden of disease/risk factors; and ethics and resource allo- cation. This unit also includes a component dealing with standardisa- tion of terminologies used in the health sector.

3. Health Systems - Financing, Regulation and Provision: Cross-country analysis of health policies and their links to health outcomes, includ- ing the relationship between health improvement and economic develop- ment; development of standardised national health accounts; analysis of health care financing methods; evaluating the advantages and disadvan- tages of alternative methods of organising health service provision; assessing the role of health regulation and legislation.

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS
Candidates with demonstrated experience in any of the above areas are welcome to apply. It is expected that applicants will have postgraduate qualifications in one or more of the following academic disciplines: epidemiology, public health, biostatistics, medical demography, health economics/econometrics and health-related social sciences.

CONDITIONS AND CATEGORIES OF GHL FELLOWSHIPS
GHL Fellows will not be employees of WHO but will be attached to the Organization for a limited duration. Three categories of fellowship awards will be made.

GHL Fellowships:
For Fellows with less than five years experience since completing post- graduate training. Annual Stipend: US$ 36,000.

Mid-Career GHL Fellowships:
For Fellows with a completed doctoral degree or equivalent and signifi- cant work experience, or without a doctoral degree but with substantial work, research or publication experiences. Annual Stipend: US$ 58,500.

Senior GHL Fellowships:
For Fellows with a completed doctoral degree or equivalent who are rec- ognised experts in the field with substantial work experience. Annual Stipend: US$ 81,000.

WHAT AN APPLICATION SHOULD INCLUDE
People wishing to apply should send the following information, type- written, to the address given below (no application forms are re- quired).

1. Full name in capital letters with the family name underlined.
2. Date of birth and nationality.
3. Name, address, telephone number, cable address, telex address/ num- ber, fax number and e-mail address where the candidate can be con- tacted.
4. Educational qualifications, including place of study, date and grade obtained (transcripts and photocopies of qualifications are not re- quired at this stage).
5. A description (in not more than 12 lines) of the applicant's current post and of the post held immediately preceding the current post.
6. A description (not exceeding 20 lines) of the applicant's current research interests and experience as it relates to the work plan of GPE.
7. A list of the applicant's publications and other abstracts or pres- entations.
8. Length of time for which the candidate seeks the GHL Fellowship and the approximate date at which they are able to begin work.
9. Names of 2 referees who are able to comment on the candidate's abil- ity to contribute to the work plan of GPE. Please include their ad- dresses, telephone numbers, cable addresses, telex addresses/ num- bers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses.

Further information on the conditions applying to the grant can be ob- tained from the below address. Applications must be received by 30 November 1998 at the following address:

Dr C. J. L. Murray
Director Global Programme on Evidence for Health Policy
World Health Organization
1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland
Fax: +41-22-791-4328
mailto:ritsonr@who.ch
Telegram: UNISANTE-GENEVA
Telex: 415416 OMS

Applications should be sent by mail. In case applications are sent by fax followed by mail, please mark the mail copy "confirmation of fax". Applications will be considered intermittently until the GHL Fellow- ships are filled.

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