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The WHO Health Emergencies Programme combined online tools with adult learning techniques to develop an innovative online leadership course. A combination of self-paced learning and online classes were used to deliver skills-based leadership training tailored to public health staff working in emergency response roles. Although using an online approach was considered a temporary solution to counter travel restrictions during the pandemic, the advantages have challenged preconceptions that effective learning, networking and peer exchange for leadership can only be achieved through face-to-face learning.

The WHO Health Emergencies Programme combined online tools with adult learning techniques to develop an innovative online leadership course. A combination of self-paced learning and online classes were used to deliver skills-based leadership training tailored to public health staff working in emergency response roles. Although using an online approach was considered a temporary solution to counter travel restrictions during the pandemic, the advantages have challenged preconceptions that effective learning, networking and peer exchange for leadership can only be achieved through face-to-face learning.

In pursuit of equitable access to emergency-related knowledge, the World Health Organization (WHO) translates COVID-19 and other infectious disease courses into multiple languages on its open-access online learning platform OpenWHO.org. Languages spoken by vulnerable or underserved populations in low- and middle-income countries and in outbreak-prone and affected areas are prioritized. Accessing learning in preferred languages enhances uptake and comprehension. In this study, we assess and compare the initial enrollment levels and global reach of these multilingual courses. On average, OpenWHO's 38 COVID-19 courses have each been translated into 4.8 languages. The platform hosts courses in 55 different languages with 10.4 million words translated. The findings identify which available languages were most utilized for COVID-19 learning to inform course production and outreach strategies. Languages were used differently across geographic regions, calling for localized learning offerings. A streamlined multilingual publishing scheme, ensuring quick and effective delivery of diverse languages, is critical to achieving greater equity of access to knowledge. publishedVersion

Accessibility, multilingualism and real-time knowledge transfer are the tenets of the OpenWHO learning platform. A descriptive analysis was conducted using anonymised statistical datasets retrieved from the OpenWHO reporting system to understand global use trends. When examining OpenWHO use in the areas with the highest burden of COVID-19 cases, a strong correlation was identified between the burden of COVID-19 and OpenWHO user activity. Further, health professionals are the top users of COVID-19 materials. The massive demand for OpenWHO courses confirms the need for real-time learning materials in accessible, multilingual formats during a pandemic. Learning is a global public good and is an essential component of the response to health emergencies. publishedVersion Non

UNSTRUCTURED Focus group discussions (FGDs) are widely used to obtain qualitative data from purposely selected groups of people. This paper describes how the Learning and Capacity Development (LCD) unit of the World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) digitalized FGDs to engage with WHO staff from around the world, to listen, share, and collect their feedback in the development of a WHO learning framework. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of local lockdowns and travel restrictions resulted in the wide use of digital platforms, such as Zoom, for employee communications and collaboration capable of reaching employees wherever they are working. The LCD/WHE team drew upon the experience of WHO colleagues from human resources, country, and regional offices to set up and hold FGDs in 6 languages with participants from all WHO regions. Building on the findings of a 2019 WHO staff survey, which was part of a comprehensive, organization-wide career development initiative, the digitalized FGDs allowed for the exchange of substantive feedback, novel ideas, and alignment, connecting across different geographies, disciplines, and levels of seniority. As a result, FGDs can be successfully conducted online, but it is essential to remove barriers to participation by adopting a multilingual and flexible approach in multinational and international organizations such as the WHO.

From 26 January - 21 April 2020, 9 online courses for COVID-19 were published on OpenWHO.org. The courses are available in 18 different languages, totalling 53 learning resources and more than 1.5 million course enrolments. This paper analyses key trends in the growth of enrolments in these resources. The number of enrolments increased significantly between 26 January and 21 April, with distinct spikes in growth preceded by important global milestones in the timeline of the outbreak. The surge in users demonstrates that the platform is serving as a source of digitized learning for COVID-19, helping meet the broad demand for outbreak-related information.

This poster presents the COVID-19 online learning response by the World Health Organization's (WHO) OpenWHO learning platform for health emergencies. Platform use shifted during the pandemic from being the highest in the WHO African and Eastern Mediterranean regions to the American and European regions. The largest traffic channels were search engines, social media and WHO websites.

Competency-based learning involves identifying the knowledge, skills and attributes required for carrying out workplace roles. In 2018, the World Health Organization's (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) introduced a competency framework with competency-based assessment (CBA) methodology. The CBA focuses on behavioural indicators that participants demonstrate and training faculty observe during training events. This article introduces the CBA of WHE. It is essential to use the framework to design learning programmes and provide the basis to appraise and manage WHE personnel and team performance.

This poster presents some preliminary findings of the OpenWHO.org platform's global use trends, in terms of the geographical distribution and occupational characteristics of its users. Assessment of user profiles is essential to measure the platform's impact, most notably related to the attainment of its core mission: the provision of life-saving knowledge worldwide. A quantitative study was conducted on the global metrics of OpenWHO's user statistics. Common user categories encompassed a wide range of professional bodies and occupations, both within public health and beyond, ranging from students and volunteers, to WHO staff, to members of international organizations and NGOs. Global tendencies in platform use confirm that that the mission of OpenWHO, to provide timely, up-to-date and easy-to-understand lifesaving knowledge to healthcare workers based in-country and responding to outbreaks at the front line, is being met.

Background At the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Health Emergencies Learning and Capacity Development Unit, together with the WHO’s health technical lead on coronaviruses, developed a massive open online course within 3 weeks as part of the global response to the emergency. The introductory coronavirus disease (COVID‑19) course was launched on January 26, 2020, on the health emergencies learning platform OpenWHO.org. Objective The aim of this paper is to investigate the geographic reach of different language courses accessed by a worldwide audience seeking information on COVID-19. Users’ professional identities and backgrounds were explored to inform course owners on the use case. The course was developed and delivered via the open-access learning platform OpenWHO.org. The self-paced resources are available in a total of 13 languages and were produced between January 26 and March 25, 2020. Methods Data were collected from the online courses’ statistical data and metrics reporting system on the OpenWHO platform. User patterns and locations were analyzed based on Google Analytics and the platform’s own statistics capabilities, and data sets were overlaid. This analysis was conducted based on user location, with the data disaggregated according to the six WHO regions, the top 10 countries, and the proportion of use for each language version. Data included affiliation, gender, age, and other parameters for 32.43% (52,214/161,007) of the users who indicated their background. Results As of March 25, 2020, the introductory COVID-19 course totaled 232,890 enrollments across all languages. The Spanish language course was comprised of more than half (n=118,754, 50.99%) of all course enrollments, and the English language course was comprised of 38.21% (n=88,988) of enrollments. The WHO’s Region of the Americas accounted for most of the course enrollments, with more than 72.47% (138,503/191,130) enrollment across all languages. Other regions were more evenly distributed with less than 10% enrollment for each. A total of 32.43% (52,214/161,007) of users specified a professional affiliation by choosing from the 12 most common backgrounds in the OpenWHO user profiles. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, users were spread over the 11 distinct affiliations, with a small fraction of users identifying themselves as “Other.” With the COVID-19 introductory course, the largest number of users selected “Other” (16,527/52,214, 31.65%), suggesting a large number of users who were not health professionals or academics. The top 10 countries with the most users across all languages were Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Mexico, Peru, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Conclusions The online course has addressed a worldwide learning need by providing WHO’s technical guidance packaged in simple formats for access and use. The learning material development was expedited to meet the onset of the epidemic. Initial data suggest that the various language versions of the course, in particular Spanish, have reached new user groups, fulfilling the platform’s aim of providing learning everywhere to anyone that is interested. User surveys will be carried out to measure the real impact.

WHO’s Transfer of Knowledge (TOK) Team under the Infectious Hazard Management Department of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) aims to meet the evolving needs of frontline responders to the health emergencies of the 21st century. Epidemics increasingly occur in more complex, rapid and challenging contexts.Frontline workers and decision-makers need the latest science and knowledge to fight disease outbreaks and other health emergencies. This knowledge must be in usable formats and delivered via suitable channels, accessible even in remote areas. If possible, WHO health technical expertise materials in infectious disease outbreaks are also produced in local languages, given that knowledge acquisition in one’s mother tongue is crucial to containing epidemics in vulnerable settings.The Transfer of Knowledge team of the WHE launched in June 2017 an online learning platform for disease outbreaks, epidemics, pandemics and health emergencies: OpenWHO.org. The aim of the platform is to ensure that frontline health responders have access to lifesaving knowledge anytime from anywhere during public health emergencies. The Transfer of Knowledge team together with infectious disease expert teams adapt and customize key technical information and package it into usable products easily accessible in the field.This knowledge transfer involves various product types and includes materials targeted for health-care and community workers on the front line of the outbreak response. Materials include epidemiological knowledge and health interventions on infectious diseases like Ebola virus disease (Ebola), yellow fever, plague and cholera. These materials are also produced in the local languages most commonly used by local responders in the outbreak areas.Most recently, a number of materials were targeted, adjusted and translated for the 2018 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Key materials on Ebola, the production process and initial user analytics are presented in this article.