Opened in December 2024, the WHO Academy is moving ahead with it ambition to become the global centre for lifelong learning in health. Last month, it held its inaugural conference in Lyon, France, where learning and health experts from around the world gathered to discuss the role of quality in health learning, training and capacity building.
Currently, there are no widely accepted global standards for high-quality learning courses in health. Building on the World Health Organization's 75 years of expertise in setting global norms and standards, the WHO Academy aims to promote quality assurance standards in developing, implementing and evaluating learning materials.
"Quality is essential, and it is a key word for the entire operation of the Academy. Providing health and care workers with continuous access to upscaling and rescaling learning is crucial to achieving health for all," explained Dr David Atchoarena, WHO Academy Executive Director, who also highlighted the Academy's commitment to bringing together global expertise on learning in public health.
In her keynote address, Professor Asha Kanwar from Beijing Normal University stressed the urgent need to address the projected global shortfall of 11 million healthcare workers by 2030. She also advocated for integrating technology into lifelong learning, including AI-generated and interactive content.
A round table discussion featured global learning and health experts who shared best practices and success stories on improving learning opportunities and implementing online and blended courses. Through a series of in-person workshops in the afternoon, participants shared their inputs on the localization of learning content, the potential of team-based learning and assessments, and what learning recognition of WHO Academy courses could look like to ensure they are well-received by ministries of health or public accreditation bodies in their own contexts.
"It is necessary to construct a shared vision for lifelong learning. Lifelong learning is a right for health workers. Health workers are committed to their training, so we have to take advantage of that. We need to make lifelong learning more relevant for their careers and ensure their training is more relevant. It is not a personal possession but a collective good," explained conference participant Isabel Dure.
Professor Janusz Janczukowicz from the Medical University of Lodz, Chair of the WHO Academy Quality Committee, concluded the conference by reiterating the importance of interprofessional and team-based learning in providing inclusive and high-quality patient care.
The WHO Academy will promote the incorporation of best practices in learning in the design and delivery of training across WHO to optimize the impact of lifelong learning. The insights from the conference will inform the WHO Academy Quality Standards and Criteria for Learning Programmes, which will be published in 2025.
The WHO Academy offers a range of free courses on its global online platform, open to anyone who would like to register at whoacademy.org .
