Who can apply?

Each year, approximately 700 interns and volunteers work at WHO, from undergraduates to retired professionals. These individuals come from all around the world and have academic backgrounds in disciplines as different as medicine, public health, law, international relations, engineering, business, and biological sciences.

 

Should I apply?

Being an intern or a volunteer at WHO is a great privilege and an amazing opportunity to start or continue your career in the field of public health.​​

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Practical considerations

You can only intern at the WHO once, whether it is at the Headquarters or at a regional, country, or out-posted office. Interning at UNAIDS does not count as your one WHO internship programme experience. Please note that some WHO programmes have separate application processes. Read the websites or contact the department directly for more information.

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Programme at Headquarters:

• Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland                                                                     Work Areas (Programmes) | Internship Programme

  Contact - ​interns@who.int

                                                                                                                                  

Programmes at the Regional Offices:

• Africa Regional Office (AFRO), Brazzaville, Congo                                                                                                              About AFRO

     Contact - afrgohrinterns@who.int

                                                                                                                                                 

• Pan American Regional Office (PAHO), Washington DC, USA                                                  About PAHO | Internship Programme

     Contact - interns@paho.org

                                   

• South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO), New Delhi, India                                                   About SEARO | Internship Programme

     Contact - seinterns@who.int

                                                                                                                 

• European Regional Office (EURO), Copenhagen, Denmark                                                     About EURO | Internship Programme

     Contact - interns@euro.who.int

                                                                                                                                                           

• Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO), Cairo, Egypt                                                About EMRO | Internship Programme

     Contact - emrgohrs@who.int

                                                                                                                                     

• Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO), Manila, Philippines                                                About WPRO | Internship Programme  

     Contact - interns@wpro.who.int

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Non-WHO Programmes:                                  

Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)                                                          About UNAIDS | Internship Programme

                                                                                                                                           

Programmes in the Out-Posted Offices:

• WHO Global Service Centre (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia): gsoffice@who.int

• WHO Kobe Centre (Kobe, Japan): wkc@wkc.who.int

• WHO Lyon Office (Lyon, France): ihrinfo@who.int

• WHO Office at the United Nations (New York, United States of America): wun@whoun.org

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   Working Conditions                         

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Your Contract

Sometime between your application and arriving in Geneva you will discuss ‘Terms of Reference’ with your supervisor. These can range from a single sentence like ‘assisting with the technical preparation of conference X’ to very detailed descriptions of your tasks. We suggest thinking of one main project or area of interest that you would like to learn more about or write about throughout your internship (maybe you can use it for your thesis or your future PhD application). This will help you to use your time more efficiently and to hold something in your hands once you are done with your internship.

 

Working Hours & Days Off

The typical working hours are from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. However, this may vary according to your unit. You might check with your local office staff (supervisor or secretary) to see what the typical working hours are. Interns receive 2.5 days take-off per month.

 

Currently, the official holidays at WHO Headquarters are as follow:

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• Monday, 1 January 2024 (New Year’s Day)

• Friday, 29 March 2024 (Good Friday)

• Monday, 1 April 2024 (Easter Monday)

• Thursday, 5 September 2024 (Jeûne Genevois)

• Friday, 6 September 2024

• Wednesday, 25 December 2024 (Christmas Day)

• Thursday, 26 December 2024

• Tuesday, 31 December 2024

 

In any case, you should discuss working expectations and time management issues during the first days with your supervisor to avoid any misunderstandings.

 

Dress Code

Business casual is the most common and safest attire for your working environment at WHO. Some interns might wear casual only, but supervisors almost always wear business attire. If you are participating in an official meeting, you may choose business attire as well (maybe you will meet your future employer)!

 

Typical Tasks and Working Environment

Some interns build databases, publish papers, recreate websites, and some write a few emails. Below are a few things you may work on during your time here:

 

MEETINGS AND REVIEWS

• Helping with the coordination, preparation and documentation of meetings through minutes, protocols and concept drafts. Some interns even get a chance to participate in international conferences or meetings outside of Geneva.

• Other units work more with building and updating large databases, and you might be involved in these activities.

• Since the WHO formulates action and monitoring plans for so many public health areas, collecting evidence, evaluating it and presenting the evidence for both professionals and non-professionals is a core task.

 

PRESENTATIONS

• Some units offer (or even expect) their interns to present their work during their internship at the end to the whole team. Use this chance to show what you have done and get feedback for your next steps in your professional life. If it is not usually done in your team, you can think about initiating something like it (maybe not the whole team, but your fellow interns, it is up to you)