Photo credit: WHO
A WHO fellowship offers individuals and groups a range of training opportunities with specific learning objectives and competencies. These correspond to the relevant country’s approved health and health-related plans, policies and priorities, with the aim of building national capacities.
Training modalities vary and include academic degree and non-degree courses, research, technical training, professional development, observations, study tours and seminars. Training may be in person or virtual, and short or long term. Training may take place in a training institution or in the field, within or outside of the fellow’s home country.
For countries and territories of the Region, the WHO fellowships programme is an integral part of human resources development and an important aspect of technical capacity-building. Each fellowship is a joint undertaking by WHO, the fellow, the sending and receiving governments and training institution.
Fellows@EMRO, which is one aspect of the programme, aims to build the capacities of young public health professionals from low- and middle-income economies in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. Through placements at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, it gives tomorrow’s health leaders insights into national, regional and global public health issues.
The Fellows@EMRO programme aims to build the capacities of young health professionals from low- and middle-income countries in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region and raise their understanding of national, regional, and global public health issues through placements in the WHO Regional Office in Cairo, Egypt, or at a WHO country office in the Region. The programme gives young health professionals – tomorrow’s health leaders – a headstart by assigning them to a WHO technical programme in which their educational experience is enhanced through practical assignments and training.
Fellows spend between 3 and 6 months in a WHO office and following completion of their fellowship, they will be engaged in a short-term project, in coordination with the WHO country office.
The skills which they acquire equip them to participate more actively in the health, economic and social development of their countries.
The programme is a partnership between WHO, national health authorities and academic/medical institutions.
The programme was initiated in 2019 when the first cohorts of fellows to the programme joined in 2019. The second cohort of fellows joined in 2023 and concluded their fellowship after 6 months in July 2023.
Objectives
The objectives of the programme are to:
provide a framework for young health professionals in which their educational experience is enhanced through practical assignments;
expose young health professionals to the work of WHO;
expand opportunities for young health professionals in low- and middle-income countries of the Region;
enrich WHO technical programmes with the innovative and fresh perspectives of young health professionals.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for the programme, you must:
hold a postgraduate degree in an area of study relevant to public health;
have at least two years of work experience in a relevant field;
not exceed 35 years of age;
have excellent knowledge of English; knowledge of Arabic or French an asset;
have proficiency in Microsoft Office, web-based applications, Powerpoint.
have not previously participated in the programme;
not be a first degree relative of a WHO staff member.
Entitlements
WHO covers travel and provides a monthly stipend to cover the living costs for the duration of the fellowship.
Successful candidates will receive a welcome booklet, which provides useful information on the office and settling into life in Cairo.
How to apply
Fellowships are advertised through vacancy notices posted at WHO’s employment site at: www.who.int/careers/en.
Fellows
Hassan Hamed Hassan Ali Sarsour
Palestine/Sudan
Unit: Health Systems in Emergencies/UHS
Background: Hassan is a medical doctor with a master’s degree in public health. He has experience as a public health lecturer and researcher in health nutrition and public health, including planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of health and nutrition programmes.
Jihan “Sani Ibrahim” Azar
Palestine
Unit: Mental Health and Management of Substance Use/NMH
Background: Jihan is a clinical pharmacist with a master’s degree in public health from the American University in Cairo. She has experience in clinical pharmacy and research and established the Global Health Association at the American University in Cairo.
Alhassan Yosri Ibrahim Hassantry
Egypt
Unit: Communicable Disease Control
Background: Alhassan is a digital health specialist with a PhD in health economics and numerous publications providing guidance on improving decision-making in the area of technologies for patients and caregivers. He is experienced in delivering major projects and supporting services for multinational organizations and governmental e-services.
Mariem Bouaneni
Tunisia
Unit: Health Workforce Development/UHS
Background: Mariem is medical doctor with a master’s in public health for development from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She has experience working in clinical medicine, research and national nongovernmental organizations in the areas of mental health epidemiology and policy, access to health and universal health coverage, addictions management and harm reduction, and health promotion of NCDs and mental health.
Ali Al-Shalah
Iraq
Unit: Information Systems for Health/SID
Background: Ali is a dentist with a master’s degree in public health for development from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He has worked in community mobilization and health education, where he incorporated a societal and cultural ethos into health messages and services.
Salma Ahmed
Sudan
Unit: Violence and injury prevention/HPD
Background: Salma is a community medicine resident and a candidate of master’s in public health/health service management from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She has experience working in the fields of communicable disease control, emergency response, surveillance systems, mass gatherings, and noncommunicable disease control, including healthy lifestyle medicine and tobacco cessation.
Muhammad Zia ul Haq
Pakistan
Unit: Noncommunicable Disease Management/NMH
Background: Zia is a physician and epidemiologist with a master’s in public health (epidemiology) from Emory University. He has worked with the CDC Foundation to develop the Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP) curriculum and is interested in cardiovascular health in the Region.
Maya Ahmad Hassan
Syrian Arab Republic
Unit: Infectious Hazards Preparedness/WHE
Background: Maya is a pharmacist with a master’s in public health, concentrating in health management and policy, from the American University of Beirut. Maya has experience working in the humanitarian sector in her home country, Syria, and has founded three initiatives to build local capacities in Damascus’ rural areas.
Mohammad Saadati
Islamic Republic of Iran
Unit: Noncommunicable Disease Prevention/NMH
Background: Mohammad is a health services manager with PhD in health services management from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. He is an Assistant Professor at Khoy University of Medical Sciences. He has several years of experience in health promotion through multisectoral collaboration and population engagement as part of the Healthy City programme in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Eiman Gamal Mohamed Ahmed Elgaali
Sudan
Unit: Regional Tuberculosis Unit/DCD
Background: Eiman is a medical doctor with a master’s degree in public and tropical diseases from the University of Medical Sciences and Technology in Khartoum, with a subspecialization in hospital management. She has experience working with the Sudanese Federal Ministry of Health and nongovernmental organizations in health promotion and project coordination in reproductive, maternal and child health, as well as in quality and infection control.
Mohamed Nagi Elsayed
Egypt
Unit: Hospital Care Management/UHS
Background: Nagi is a medical doctor with a master’s in health economics from Cairo University and a global health delivery master’s from the Harvard Medical School. He has Worked with Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population on the universal health insurance system, particularly in the areas of strategic planning, bilateral and multilateral projects with development partners, and providing technical grounds for legal amendments.
Amira Saad Mahboob
Egypt
Unit: Infectious Hazard Preparedness/WHE
Background: Amira is medical doctor with a master’s degree in public health in environmental health from the High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University. Currently she is a PhD candidate in the occupational health and industrial medicine department and works as an assistant lecturer of public health at the same institute.
Liban Hassan Jimale
Somalia
Unit: Hepatitis, AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases/DCD
Background: Liban is a medical doctor with a specialization in clinical tropical medicine from Mahidol University. He has extensive experience in clinical practice and the public health sector in the fields of malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS and neglected tropical diseases.
Nibras Omer Mohamed Elhag Arabi
Sudan
Unit: Tobacco Free Initiative/NMH
Background: Nibras is a dentist with a master’s degree in dental public health from University College London (UCL). She has experience working with organizations such as the Sudanese Childhood Diabetes Association (SCDA), UCL, the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) and the Catholic Medical Mission Broad (CMMB) in New York.
Testimonials of the fellows
Dr Eglal Elamin, WHO fellow in nutrition
Yousef Alrawi, WHO fellow in noncommunicable diseases
Ali Bakhsh Nasrat, WHO fellow in digital health
Luma Samawi, WHO fellow in mental health
Keyrellous Adib, WHO fellow in the Tobacco-Free Initiative
Abdelrahman Elwishahy, WHO fellow in violence and injury prevention
Huda Abdul Ghaffar, WHO fellow in health promotion
Aman Abdelgader Yousuf Alawad, WHO fellow in Health System in Emergencies Lab
Arooj Jalal, WHO fellow in health workforce development
Dr Mohamed Essam Mahmoud, WHO fellow in health promotion
Farah Saad, WHO fellow in nutrition
