World Health Organisation (WHO) Fellowships

• The College
• The Finance
• The Procedure

• assist governments in the strengthening of health services;
• promote co-operation among scientific and professional groups which contribute to the advancement of health;
• promote improved standards of teaching and training in the health, medical and related professions and thereby…
• help national administration to raise the level of health.

One of the ways in which WHO endeavours to achieve these aims is through its Fellowship Programme, which provides opportunities for:

• specialist training in the candidate’s own country where suitable facilities exist;
• training and study in health matters which may not be available in the candidate’s own country;
• the international exchange of scientific knowledge and transfer of technology.
  Fellowships can be awarded in almost any health discipline. Priority is given to those disciplines that reflect the WHO’s own priorities as well as those of the sending country. The major fields in which fellowships are given include: public health administration, environmental health, nursing, medical social work, maternal and child health and other health subjects such as mental health, rehabilitation, control of pharmaceutical and biological preparations.

The existing policy guidelines of WHO Fellowship Programme specify four main participants and their roles as follows:

1. The sending government is responsible for:
(a) identifying the field of study based on national health service priorities
(b) selecting the most suitable fellow in a process monitored by the WHO
(c) paying the fellow’s salary for the duration of the fellowship period employing the fellow on his/her return home

2. The fellow
(a) Identifies learning objectives for the study programme
(b) Maintains a satisfactory progress
(c) Submits progress reports to the WHO every six months
(d) Is required to return home and work in the national healthcare framework for at least three years

3. The host institution, on accepting a WHO fellows agrees to:
(a) Provide effective supervision and evaluation of the progress
(b) Submit progress reports to the WHO every six months
(c) is expected to provide social support where appropriate

4. The WHO is responsible for the all administrative aspects at every stage of the project. Applications are screen for appropriateness and processed by WHO regional offices.

The College

Until recently, the College has not been involved in any administrative aspect of the WHO Fellowship. The WHO Regional Offices identified suitable host institutions in the UK either through their Collaborating Centres or by approaching training centres directly.

However, when the office for the West Midlands Division of the College contacted the International Affairs Unit at the College in July 2002 and asked for help in dealing with a request from the WHO Regional Office for Europe based in Denmark it became apparent that co-operating in the Fellowship Programme would be beneficial to both the College and the WHO.

Professor Hamid Ghodse, Director of International Affairs, has agreed, on behalf of the College, to identify suitable centres of excellence and Mrs Joanna Carroll will act as a ‘liaison officer’ between the WHO and host centres. The Board of International Affairs is currently researching the best ways to ensure that host centres are identified throughout the UK. College regional advisors and Faculty chairmen may be asked to get involved.

Since July 2002 the College has been asked for assistance on three separate occasions in the following cases:

• One month training attachment in community based mental health care for two mental health workers from Malaysia
• Six-month training programme in occupational therapy for mentally ill patients for a doctor from Oman
• One-week study tour on recognition and treatment of mental disorders for six Chinese psychiatrists
  As the College effectively acts as a ‘clearing house’ it was thought appropriate to charge a ‘placement fee’ for the service.

The Finance

Higher education tuition fee structure has been used as the basis for determining the amount of the placement fee charged by the College. In addition, it has been agreed that the host centre identified by the Director of International Affairs will receive a proportion of the fee charged by the College. The percentage payable to the host centre will depend, primarily, on the length of placement offered and will be in the region of 20 – 25%.

The fees are set annually and reviewed every December by the Board of International Affairs. The College does not get involved in arranging placements of less than one week’s or more than twelve months’ duration.

The Procedure

The following steps should be taken while arranging placements for WHO fellows:

• Initial enquiries from the WHO Regional Office for Europe in Copenhagen (or any other Regional Office) will be forwarded to the Director of International Affairs who will determine whether or not to accept the commission.

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• The Director of International Affairs identifies the centre of excellence and forwards the details to the International Affairs Officer. The host centre will, at this stage, receive the WHO Fellowships booklet for information. The Director may nominate a member of the Board of International Affairs to deal with WHO Fellowships as and when necessary.
• The International Affairs Officer informs the WHO Regional Office that a placement has been arranged and requests the confirmation of acceptance of the College fee in writing.
• On receipt of the confirmation the International Affairs Officer contacts the host centre for details of the training programme and the contact person. The College will not get involved in arrangements for travel and accommodation for the Fellow.

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• The training programme and the details of the contact person are sent to the WHO Regional Office requesting a written confirmation that the programme has been accepted by the Fellow. Minor changes to the programme may be permitted at the discretion of the host centre.

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• If the programme is not accepted and an agreement cannot be reached the College reserves the right to withdraw its assistance in the case. No charge will be made at this stage.

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• If the programme is accepted the International Affairs Officer informs the host centre in writing, enclosing the details of the Fellow and the amount of payment it will receive from the College.

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• The International Affairs Officer requests the College Finance Dept to issue an invoice to the relevant WHO Regional Office. It must be noted that the WHO is exempt from the VAT charge.

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• When the payment from the WHO has been received the Finance Dept will raise a cheque payable to the host centre to the amount specified.

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• At the end of the placement the International Affairs Officer writes to the host centre requesting a brief report on the Fellow’s performance and the general outcome of the fellowship. The Fellow will also be invited to give feedback on his/her time spent at the host centre.

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• The College does not accept responsibility for the quality of the Fellows and if, at any time during the fellowship, concerns about the Fellow’s performance or behaviour are raised by the host centre the International Affairs Officer will notify the WHO Regional Office which has the overall accountability for the Fellow. The Director of International Affairs and the Chief Executive of the College will also be notified.

Joanna Carroll
International Affairs Officer
December 2002