Program Officer HIV and Tuberculosis

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations Public Health Organization established in 1948. The objective of the World Health Organization shall be the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.
World Health Organization achieves its goals by performing its essential functions:
1. Take a leadership role in key health issues and create partnerships when joint action is needed;
2. Set research priorities and encourage the acquisition, application and dissemination of useful knowledge;
3. Setting standards and criteria and encouraging and monitoring them;
4. Develop ethical and evidence-based policies
5. Provide technical support, be an agent of change and build institutional capacity in a sustainable way;
6. Monitor health status and assess health trends.

The World Health Organization (WHO) African Region has embarked on a new Global Programme of Work (GPW14) and a new Programme Budget (2026-2027). Through these two strategic documents, the region aims to deliver public health outcomes through an integrated results-based structure.

The overall objective the Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases Cluster, in the WHO African Regional Office (AFRO) is to provide leadership and ensure action in supporting Member States in reducing the impact of Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases (CND) and contribute to attaining Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the SDGs in the WHO African Region.

The Cluster is responsible for the following technical areas - HIV, Tuberculosis and Hepatitis, including other Sexually Transmitted Infections; Tropical and Vector Borne Diseases, including Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases; Non-Communicable diseases; and Vaccine Preventable Diseases. The Cluster provides leadership and vision to the above and related areas of work in the WHO African Region and facilitates planning, programming, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of services in an integrated approach. The Cluster is responsible for joint actions with the ARD and UHC-LC Clusters to respond to the needs of the population through the integrated delivery of interventions and services for CNDs equitably across the life course, through strengthened health systems, and for response to outbreaks to vaccine-preventable and vector-borne diseases with the Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Cluster. The Cluster also develops strategic partnerships, mobilizing capacities in the region in the pursuit of its objectives and contributes to cross-cluster resource mobilization in order to achieve universal coverage for significant improvement in health outcomes using Primary Health Care as a delivery vehicle.

The HIV, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis and STIs (HTH) team is responsible for supporting Member States towards ending the epidemics of these diseases and achieving the SDGs in the WHO African Region, under the guidance of the Framework for an Integrated Multisectoral Response to TB, HIV, STIs and Hepatitis (2021-2030). In the context of the GPW14, the UNV will support the HTH team in managing specific HIV and tuberculosis program activities, ensuring effective implementation, monitoring, and collaboration across stakeholders to advance regional efforts in disease prevention, treatment, and control.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the UCN-HTH Team lead, as assigned, the UN Volunteer will provide the following:

1. Support the development and implementation of plans for HIV and TB programs in alignment with WHO regional goals.
2. Contribute to an effective AFRO coordination of multi-country HTH initiatives, ensuring coherence and synergy in program interventions.
3. Support achievement of HTH objectives through contribution to implementation of work plans.
4. Support implementation of HTH strategic initiatives.
5. Facilitate the organization of workshops, trainings, webinars and other HTH convenings and events.
6. Coordinate activities of the WHO AFRO advisory groups for the HIV, TB, Hepatitis programs and the Regional Validation Committee supporting the triple elimination efforts.
7. Support planning and development of programme reviews and development and implementation of surveillance protocols.
8. Contribute to programme monitoring and evaluation.
9. Prepare reports, case studies, presentations and contribute to development of other HTH-relevant documentation.
10. Perform other duties as assigned by Supervisor.


Results/expected outputs

As an active WHO AFRO team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to WHO AFRO and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including:

• Routine reporting on all assigned tasks
• Progress report toward eliminating vertical transmission and reducing TB/HIV co-infections
• Report on data management activities under HTH programmes.
• Training and capacity building activities for the countries
• Reports on collaborative regional initiatives including the regional advisory groups and the disease validation committee.