Today, on the fringes of the 77th World Health Assembly, the Group of Friends of the WHO Academy was inaugurated. France, Indonesia, Japan, Qatar, and Rwandar represented by their respective ministers or deputy ministers of health co-hosted the event.
“The WHO Academy will be a vital asset for Member States, and a game changer in the way WHO supports countries in building capacities,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, who was joined by 30 Member States. “As a key initiative of the WHO Transformation that began in 2018,” he said in his gratitude to the founding friends. The WHO Academy will be able to advance lifelong learning in health as a worldwide priority with the support of the Group of Friends.”
The WHO Academy facility in Lyon, with French support, is scheduled to open for business at the end of 2024. Its training delivery will serve the global health and care workforce through a portfolio of evidence-based courses that are accessible online globally and in-person capacity-building programs that are provided in Member States and Lyon.
The Group of Friends will provide political backing to advance the Academy and push for funding for workforce development programs for the health sector. The group wants to assist the WHO Academy in becoming the premier health education institution in the world for lifelong learning.
