WHO Internship Opportunity

[ashle...@gmail.com]

Proposed Terms of Reference for Interns in the
Department of Gender, Women and Health



Background
The Department of Gender, Women and Health (GWH) envisions better
health for girls, women, boys and men throughout the life-course,
through the promotion of gender equality and health equity. GWH works
in partnership with other WHO departments, Regional and Country
Offices and other international organizations in order to realize this
vision. Through the provision of technical assistance to Member
States, GWH promotes the integration of gender perspectives in health
research, policies, programmes and systems. Due to the small size of
GWH, and the fact that work that seeks to redress gender inequalities
is resource-intensive, outreach-based and poses various challenges, it
is often necessary to involve interns and volunteers in order to
further the work of the department. More importantly, mentorship
within this area of work is of core importance and is a fundamental
process towards sustainable progress in gender mainstreaming.

General GWH Internship Objectives
GWH is committed to ensuring that interns contribute to the work of
the Department as well as receive maximum professional benefit. Over
the course of the internship, it is expected that Interns will:
· Build upon existing and develop new knowledge of gender and
women's health, public health, international health
· Gain experience in an international organization
· Develop critical analytic skills incorporating a gender
perspective and other UN notions of social justice
· Become familiar with incorporating a gender perspective into
public health issues
· Develop networks on related subject areas of interest within
WHO

Specific GWH 2009 Intern TOR
2009 is the second year in the implementation of the Strategy for
integrating gender analysis and actions into the work of WHO. A key
focus of GWH support for the Strategy is to contribute to the
finalization of core gender and health capacity building materials,
including the Technical Briefing Kit (TBK). The Gender and Public
Health Technical Briefing Kit (TBK) is designed to inform its users
about the relationship between gender and health in order to
strengthen action at the country level and further WHO's mission of
ensuring health for all. The need for capacity building in this area
and the desire for a user-friendly job aid were identified in a recent
survey of WHO regional and country focal points.

The long-term goal of the TBK is to achieve gender-equitable health
outcomes at the country level by applying a gender perspective in
health promotion, policies, and programmes. TBK objectives include:
Enhance user understanding of the relationship between gender and
health.
Provide information about WHO's gender mainstreaming commitments and
strategy.
Present easily accessible technical information on gender and select
health topics.
Advance the integration of a gender perspective into local, regional
and national health policies, programs, and budgeting.
Advocate for gender equality as a powerful social determinant of
health.

The GWH Intern assigned to help with the TBK will:
Conduct literature searches to identify the most up-to-date
publications/tools/ppts/training materials on gender and select health
topics.
Develop a Resources for further Review section of the TBK that
includes references to articles/tools/ppt/training materials and links
to appropriate websites.
Prepare draft TBK sections based on literature review under the
supervision of the Technical Officer.
Develop ppt presentations of the eleven selected health topics based
on the TBK sections.
Assist the Technical Officer in charge of finalizing the TBK with
other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications
WHO criteria for eligibility:
At least 20 years old at time of application.
Enrolled in a graduate or post-graduate course of study at university
leading to a formal qualification.
Has completed 3 years of full-time studies at university.
Has not previously been a WHO intern.
In addition to the above criteria, WHO looks for the following
qualifications in Interns:
• Commitment to gender equality, women’s empowerment and
social justice
• Some technical knowledge of gender equality or women’s
health
• Some understanding of the broad social determinants of
health
• Excellent analytic and writing skills
• Ability to conduct literature searches
• Computer skills; experience developing powerpoint
presentations
• Self-starter who can work with little supervision
• Conscientious worker who pays attention to detail
• Six-week to 2-month commitment desired

GWH contact information
If interested, send a cover letter that addresses the qualifications
above with dates of availability and a CV to:

Ms. Milly Nsekalije (nseka...@who.int)

Cc Dr. Claudia S. Morrissey, MD, MPH (morri...@who.int)