Diis, a community elder at a temporary camp in Modeka, Garissa County in Kenya, addresses WHO staff and health workers from the Ministry of Health during an oral cholera vaccination campaign. 17 February 2023.
WHO Civil Society Commission
The mission of the WHO Civil Society Commission is to strengthen dialogue, foster collaboration and provide recommendations to support WHO on its engagement with civil society at global, regional and national levels to achieve health for all and the objectives of the WHO General Programme of Work as well as to accelerate attainment of health-related SDGs.
Its goal is, taking into consideration the civil society’s voices available to WHO, to support WHO’s efforts towards improving engagement between WHO and civil society at global, regional, and national levels, rendering it more systematic with the aim of advancing WHO’s work and public health outcomes.
The Civil Society Commission is a WHO network consisting of a Steering Committee, a General Meeting and Working Groups.
Overall strategic direction and main deliverables for the work of the WHO Civil Society Commission will be provided by its Steering Committee of maximum 25 members. Its responsibilities include supporting the development of the overall WHO Civil Society Commission workplans and strategies and coordinate the general meetings. It meets 4 times a year.
The annual general meeting of all the WHO Civil Society Commission participants will take place once a year in hybrid or virtual format, and it will review the Commission annual reports as well as proposed work plans.
The participants will also have a possibility to propose or join working groups which are set up for the purpose of sharing information and collectively working on specific issues that align with the WHO Civil Society Commission’s overall mission and objectives.
WHO will act as its Secretariat and facilitate and support all the work of the Commission.
