The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the Strategic Advisory Group on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. This “Call for Experts” provides information about the Strategic Advisory Group in question, the expert profiles being sought, the process to express interest, and the process of selection.
Issued on: 4 April 2024
Deadline: 17 May 2024
Background
A high burden of mental health conditions, low treatment coverage, and rising suicide rates make mental health a serious public health problem in the Region of the Americas. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation by increasing the prevalence of mental health conditions and disrupting essential mental health services. Other humanitarian emergencies, including the global climate crisis, also pose a significant threat to mental health in the Region.
Suicide is a significant public health concern in the Region of the Americas, where nearly 100,000 people die by suicide each year. Every case of suicide is a tragedy that severely impacts not only individuals but also families and communities.
There have been advances in the response to the high burden. In June 2023, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) High-Level Commission on Mental Health and COVID-19 published its ten recommendations for advancing mental health in the Americas, which were incorporated into the regional Strategy for Improving Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in the Region of the Americas, approved by the 60th Directing Council in September 2023.
The Strategy for Improving Mental Health and Suicide Prevention is intended to guide and assist Member States in efforts to improve mental health and suicide prevention, using an equity- and rights-based approach and taking into account national contexts, needs, and priorities, through six strategic lines of action.
The Strategic Advisory Group on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (SAG) will act as an advisory body to PAHO to advance the Organization’s agenda on mental health and suicide prevention in the Region of the Americas.
Functions of the Strategic Advisory Group on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
In its capacity as an advisory body to PAHO, the SAG shall have the following functions:
- To advise on key strategies for accelerated action on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in the Americas.
- To advise on how best to transform the recommendations proposed by the High-Level Commission on Mental Health and COVID-19 into action for Member States, and periodically review their uptake.
- To provide guidance on priority actions to support Member States in achieving the commitments outlined in the Strategy for Improving Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in the Region of the Americas.
- To provide recommendations on how to best integrate the various interconnected thematic areas within mental health including suicide prevention, alcohol use, public health approaches to substance use, brain health and neurology, into more effective guidance and actions to be implemented by Member States.
Operations of the Strategic Advisory Group on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
The SAG shall normally meet at least twice each year, with one in-person meeting and one virtual meeting with the working languages being English and Spanish. However, PAHO may convene additional meetings. SAG meetings may be held in person (at PAHO headquarters in or another location, as determined by PAHO) or virtually, via video or teleconference.
Who can express interest?
The Strategic Advisory Group on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills, and experience relevant to mental health and suicide prevention. Approximately 15 members may be selected.
PAHO welcomes expressions of interest from:
- Mental health professionals
- Academics
- Persons with lived experience
- Relevant civil society organizations
- Public health experts
- Scientists
- Inter-American organizations and agencies
- International development institutions and agencies.
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the Strategic Advisory Group on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, please submit the following documents by 17 May, 11:59pm, Washington, D.C. time to oliveirren@paho.org and tauschamy@paho.org using the subject line “Expression of interest for the Strategic Advisory Group on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention”:
- A cover letter, indicating your motivation to apply and how you satisfy the selection criteria. Please note that, if selected, membership will be in a personal capacity. Therefore, do not use the letterhead or other identification of your employer);
- Your curriculum vitae; and
- A signed and completed Declaration of Interests form for PAHO/WHO Experts (PDF, 279.47KB).
After submission, your expression of interest will be reviewed by PAHO. Due to an expected high volume of interest, only selected individuals will be informed.
Important information about the selection processes and conditions of appointment
Members of PAHO SAGs must be free of any real, potential, or apparent conflicts of interest. To this end, applicants are required to complete the PAHO Declaration of Interests for PAHO Experts, and the selection as a member of a SAG is, amongst other things, dependent on PAHO determining that there is no conflict of interest or that any identified conflicts could be appropriately managed (in addition to PAHO’s evaluation of an applicant’s experience, expertise and motivation and other criteria).
All SAG members will serve in their individual expert capacity and shall not represent any governments, any commercial industries or entities, any research, academic or civil society organizations, or any other bodies, entities, institutions, or organizations. They are expected to fully comply with the Code of Conduct for PAHO Experts. SAG members will be expected to sign and return a completed confidentiality undertaking prior to the beginning of the first meeting.
At any point during the selection process, telephone interviews may be scheduled between an applicant and PAHO’s Secretariat to enable PAHO to ask questions relating to the applicant’s experience and expertise and/or to assess whether the applicant meets the criteria for membership in the relevant SAG. The selection of members of the SAGs will be made by PAHO in its sole discretion, taking into account the following (non-exclusive) criteria: relevant technical expertise; experience in international and country policy work; communication skills; and ability to work constructively with people from different cultural backgrounds and orientations. The selection of SAG members will also take into account the need for diverse perspectives from different regions, especially from low and middle-income countries, and for gender balance.
If selected by PAHO, proposed members will be sent an invitation letter. Appointment as a member of a SAG will be subject to the proposed member returning to PAHO the countersigned copy of this document, as well as the Declaration of Interests Form and the confidentiality undertaking mentioned above.
PAHO reserves the right to accept or reject any expression of interest, to annul the open call process and reject all expressions of interest at any time without incurring any liability to the affected applicant or applicants and without any obligation to inform the affected applicant or applicants of the grounds for PAHO's action. PAHO may also decide, at any time, not to proceed with the establishment of the SAG, disband an existing SAG or modify the work of the SAG.
PAHO shall not in any way be obliged to reveal, or discuss with any applicant, how an expression of interest was assessed, or to provide any other information relating to the evaluation/selection process or to state the reasons for not choosing a member.
PAHO may publish the names and a short biography of the selected individuals on the PAHO internet.
SAG members will not be remunerated for their services in relation to the SAG or otherwise. Travel and accommodation expenses of SAG members to participate in SAG meetings will be covered by PAHO in accordance with its applicable policies, rules, and procedures.
The appointment will be limited in time as indicated in the letter of appointment.
If you have any questions about this “Call for experts”, please write to oliveirren@paho.org and tausch.amy@paho.org, well before the application deadline.