Invitation:

Internship Opportunity at the Department of Ethics and

Social Determinants of Health, WHO Geneva

The Social Determinants of Health Unit of the Department of Ethics and Social

Determinants of Health (ESD) has advised IFMSA of the opportunity for an internship

experience in the Geneva headquarters of the World Health Organization.

Despite major improvements in life expectancy and health outcomes globally, there remain

huge health inequities within and between countries. Health equity refers to the absence of

avoidable and unfair systematic differences in the health of populations, and health

inequities are rooted in what we call the social determinants of health (SDH) – the

conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age. WHO has extensively studied

global evidence and experiences on SDH, and has been advocating for specific yet whole-of-

society interventions to address these determinants, as enshrined in the report of the 2008

WHO Commission on SDH and the 2011 Rio Political Declaration on SDH.

Currently, the WHO Social Determinants of Health Unit works on various areas such as

integrating the SDH approach in public health programs, developing indicators for

monitoring progress in achieving health equity, and building capacity among governments

and other stakeholders for translating policy into practice, such as the adoption of “health in

all policies” approach in national policy-making.

The internship will be available starting November 1, 2013 for a usual duration of 6 weeks

to 3 months. The unit will select 4-10 interns for the whole period of November 1, 2013 –

October 31, 2014.

The intern will perform a range of duties and responsibilities, including but not limited to:

1. Contributing to activities related to capacity building of countries and regions on

implementing the SDH approach to reduce health inequities

2. Participating in the unit's strategic thinking processes for accelerating progress in

country implementation as well as global advocacy

3. Supporting communication and coordination within the unit, with the WHO system,

and with other partners and stakeholders (including IFMSA)

4. Assisting in organizing knowledge resources, including online repositories, on SDH

and health equity subjects

5. Maintaining Action:SDH (www.actionsdh.org), SDH Unit's interactive web platform

6. Liaising between the department and IFMSA, particularly the IFMSA Global Health

Equity Initiative, and coordinating joint activities

Please check all the requirements, eligibility criteria, and conditions at

http://www.who.int/employment/internship/en/. Specifically, the Department is looking for

interns with deep interest and some knowledge and experience on social determinants of

health, as well as superior level of English proficiency (both oral and written).

For this internship program, a two-step process will be followed:

1. Interested applicants should submit the following to lwho@ifmsa.org on or before

Saturday, July 20, 2013, 23:59 GMT.

a. Completed IFMSA Application Form for WHO Internships

b. Motivation Letter (maximum 2 pages)

c. Curriculum Vitae (maximum 3 pages)

d. Letter from NMO president certifying your membership in IFMSA and your

student status (Note: Alumni can also apply until 1 year after graduation.)

Please put “Application to IFMSA WHO SDH Internship” as the subject of the e-mail.

All application papers will be forwarded to the SDH Unit for screening and selection.

Note: Selection is done by the WHO department, not by IFMSA.

2. Selected applicants will be informed in mid-August 2013 and will be requested to

submit an online application via the WHO internship online application form

(http://www.who.int/employment/apply/en/) which will be opened on September

1, 2013. The SDH Unit will coordinate with the WHO internship office regarding your

papers. This procedure is to formalize your application via the central WHO

procedure.

Please be reminded that WHO internships are un-paid positions and unfortunately,

neither IFMSA nor WHO provides financial assistance to selected applicants. However,

IFMSA can provide a support letter for your personal fundraising. Once accepted, WHO will

provide you a support letter for your visa application (if necessary).

For further inquiries that are unanswered by the WHO internship webpage, do not hesitate

to contact lwho@ifmsa.org. Please do not send any email to WHO to avoid confusion.

I look forward to receiving your applications! Good luck!

Sincerely,

Ramon Lorenzo Luis R. Guinto, MD

Liaison Officer to the World Health Organization

International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations