The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members one of the Malaria Strategic Information Technical Advisory Group (MSI-TAG). 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
The WHO Malaria and NTD department is accepting applications from experts to be considered for membership on the Malaria Strategic Information Technical Advisory Group (MSI-TAG). The MSI-TAG will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to surveillance, monitoring and evaluation and the use of strategic information to drive impact. Approximately 12 members may be selected.
Functions of the Malaria Strategic Information Technical Advisory Group
The MSI-TAG will have the following specific functions:
- To provide WHO with independent evaluation of the scientific, technical and strategic aspects of malaria surveillance, monitoring and evaluation.
- To recommend priorities to WHO and relevant technical units at all levels of the organization to strengthen national malaria surveillance, monitoring, and evaluation systems and the use of data for decision making.
- To advise WHO on approaches to strengthen malaria surveillance systems, improve data quality, enhance system integration, and promote the use of data for national and subnational decision making, to support efficient, effective, and equitable implementation of malaria interventions to communities.
- To support WHO to review and improve the methods for estimation of the malaria burden, investments, interventions and impact for tracking global progress through the annual “World malaria report”.
Full Terms of Reference for the MSI-TAG: Please refer to the link: TOR 2026 MSI TAG.pdf
Operations of the Malaria Strategic Information Technical Advisory Group
The MSI-TAG shall normally meet at least once each year. However, WHO may convene additional meetings. MSI-TAG meetings may be held in person (at WHO headquarters in Geneva or another location, as determined by WHO) or virtually, via video or teleconference.
MSI-TAG meetings may be held in open and/or closed sessions, as decided by the Chairperson in consultation with WHO.
- Open sessions: open sessions shall be convened for the sole purpose of the exchange of non-confidential information and views and may be attended by observers.
- Closed sessions: the sessions dealing with the formulation of recommendations and/or advice to WHO shall be restricted to the members of the advisory group and essential WHO Secretariat staff.
Who can express interest?
The Malaria Strategic Information Technical Advisory Group will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills, and experience relevant to malaria surveillance, monitoring, and evaluation, as well as the use of strategic information to drive impact. Approximately 12 members may be selected.
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from national malaria programme staff, scientists, academics, disease surveillance and health information experts, and professionals involved in malaria programme implementation who have scientific and/or technical expertise in disease surveillance, monitoring and evaluation, including data analysis to inform malaria strategy and implementation
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the MSI-TAG, please submit the following documents by 15 May 2026, 24:00h (midnight) Geneva time to jegouzoc@who.int, using the subject line “Expression of interest for the MSI-TAG:
- 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 a 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 Mrs Corinne Jegouzo at jegouzoc@who.int well before the applicable deadline.