Technical Officer (Climate Change Adaptation and Health) in Bonn bei World Health Organization

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The Division of Communicable Diseases, Environment and Health (CDE) assists country efforts to reduce the burden of communicable diseases and addresses the social, economic and environmental determinants of health, and promotes policies and actions for health through stewardship of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network. It focuses on health promotion measures, behavioural insights; communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, and vector-borne and neglected tropical diseases; elimination and control of vaccine-preventable diseases and advocacy for increased use of vaccines; containing and controlling antimicrobial resistance; addressing existing and emerging environmental health risks and supporting violence and injury prevention. A determination to ensure universal access to people-centred quality health services across the continuum of care is matched by enriching the evidence base for policy design and interventions using social, cultural and behavioural approaches, to drive implementation of innovation at national, regional and local levels.

The WHO European Centre for Environment and Health (ECEH) in Bonn, Germany, provides technical and scientific expertise on the impacts of environment on health. It delivers to countries policy advice, tools to inform and support decision-making in the areas of air quality, access to safe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene, minimizing the adverse effects of chemicals, adaptation to and mitigation of climate change, environmental sustainability of health systems, urban health planning, including transport and mobility work, as well as violence and road traffic injury prevention. WHO ECEH works with all units to develop collaborative initiatives addressing environment-related diseases. It strengthens country capacities to address environment and health challenges through development and delivery of a range of training courses on environment and health, including on health impact assessment.

The Programme on Water and Climate (WAC) addresses the health-related aspects of climate change, as well as of water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH). WAC provides the secretariat function to the Protocol on Water and Health, jointly with UNECE. It also provides the secretariat for the Working Group on Health in Climate Change (HIC), a working group established by the European Environment and Health Process (EHP), to facilitate dialogue and cooperation among Member States in the WHO European Region to protect health from the adverse effects of climate change. WAC works with Member States to support the development of climate change health adaptation strategies and plans, and to develop and improve WASH regulations, management and surveillance approaches. The Programme supports regional implementation of the World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions in the areas of climate change and WASH, the achievement of goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the commitments taken by Member States in the Declaration of the Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health. The Programme also supports the response health emergencies related to climate-induced extreme weather events and outbreaks of water-related disease.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

To provide coordination at the multi-country and national levels in the area of climate change adaptation and health through promoting health sector leadership and multi-stakeholder coordination. To prepare policy-oriented syntheses of the scientific evidence of health effects of climate change and extreme weather events, and the effectiveness of policies and solutions to reduce these effects; to build capacities of Member States in the WHO European Region towards strengthening their public health response and health system and community resilience to climate change. To coordinate integration of climate change considerations across health programmes in the WHO Regional Office for Europe.

Key duties

Under the supervision and guidance from Programme Manager WAC, the incumbent will assume the following respon