World Health Organization commonly referred to as WHO aims to involve fresh minds in the public health sector every year. WHO’s Internship Programme makes it possible for interested individuals to gain a sneak peek over the proceedings of the organization. Hence, every year a limited number of internship positions are made available by WHO. Internship opportunities in the field of Trade, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy and Health (TFD) help aspiring candidates to expand their knowledge base and understand the goals, activities and policies of WHO.

Who Can Apply?

The World Health Organization has mandated certain eligibility criteria to offer the limited internship positions to deserving candidates.

For example, the candidate must be enrolled at a recognized graduate school in a degree programme both when applying for the position and serving at WHO. The candidate must have completed at least 3 years of full time studies at an institution for the purpose of acquiring a degree. The applicant’s age must be no less than 20 years at the time of application. Educationally the candidate must possess a first class degree either in medicine or public health or a full time degree in management/ administration. The coursework should contain aspects of technical work undertaken at WHO. The candidate must be fluent in the language spoken by the individuals at the respective internship site.

How to Apply for Internship Positions?

You will have to follow certain steps in order to apply for an internship position at WHO. Firstly you must complete and submit an application that contains a questionnaire. In the questionnaire, applicants can indicate their work experience, level of education and the field in which they are interested to work in at WHO. Also all candidates have to mandatorily submit an essay that portrays their motivation for applying for the particular internship position at WHO. Candidates can fill the questionnaire here in this link.

What are the conditions of the World Health Organization Internship Programme?

There is a set of conditions that you must be aware of and agree with before applying for an internship position at the World Health Organization. The duration of WHO internships is fixed and can range anywhere between 6 weeks and 12 weeks. However as per the academic requirements and individual needs of the programme concerned, the duration may be extended up to 24 weeks only for some candidates. Applicants who choose to intern at WHO are not paid for their services. Everything ranging from accommodation to travel costs must be borne by the applicant or the sponsor (if any). If an applicant is related to a WHO staff committee (son/daughter/sister/brother), he/she is not eligible for the internship. The candidate must possess a passport of any of the WHO Member states.

Interns must have sufficient medical insurance to account for the entire period of stay at the respective foreign (or local) location. In case of Geneva based internships, the medical insurance must cover for expenses at Switzerland.

Applicants must not have participated in a WHO Internship Programme previously. The Interns must not claim to be staff members of WHO and must not, in any circumstance represent the organization in official proceedings. Interning individuals are not eligible for being recruited to any position at WHO till the completion of three months post the completion of the internship.

The World Health Organization receives a huge number of applications for the internship positions every year. Hence it urges applicants to submit their applications either in summer or in winter so as to get maximum time to review all profiles comfortably. As previously stated, WHO does not offer paid internship positions. Applicants can contact their universities or seek government financial aid for the purpose of completing the internship.

Follow official website for more information about WHO Internship Programme.