Young Professional Internship Programme 2011

The West African Health Organization (WAHO), the Health Agency of ECOWAS and its partners announce its Young Professional Internship Programme (YPIP) for 2011 which will commence in January 2011, and hereby invite applications from citizens of member countries of ECOWAS.

Goal: the goal of the programme is to equip young professional with knowledge, skills and experience for effective management of health problems in West Africa.

Structure: the 12 month programme is divided into 6 stages (I-VI). Stages I – IV will take place at the headquarters of WAHO in Burkina Faso, during which the interns will acquire knowledge and competence in basic principles of public health, a second official language of ECOWAS, computer and new information technology, as well as basic principles of management and leadership. During stages II and V, the interns would be posted to host institutions in different countries in West Africa to acquire practical skills and competences in their technical areas of interest for professional specialization. The technical areas should respond to the health needs of the sub-regions and the priority domains of WAHO.

Priority Domains for 2011: the applicants for 2011 Internship should have interest in one or more of the following priority technical areas/domain.

1. HIV/AIDS
2. REPRODUCTION HEALTH
3. CHILD SURVIVAL
4. NUTRITION
5. PREVENTION BLINDNESS
6. MALARIA
7. HEALTH RESEARCH
8. DISEASE CONTROL

Benefits: The interns would be provided with accommodation and would receive a monthly allowance during the period. All travel costs related to the internship would be paid for and learning materials would be provided free

Eligibility: all applicants must be citizens of ECOWAS member countries; must be available throughout the 12 month period and should have:

• Obtained a university degree or equivalent within the past five years
• Fluency in reading and writing of at least one official ECOWAS language (English, French, Portuguese). Knowledge of a second language would be an advantage
• Basic competence in Information and Communication technologies (ICT)

Application procedures: interested candidates should send the following documents:

1. Letter of application to participate in the programme
2. Up-to-date curriculum vitae
3. Photocopy of the relevant pages of National passport, National Identity Card or birth certificate
4. Photocopies of diplomas and certificates
5. Letter of motivation stating reasons for wanting to participate in the programme, technical areas of interest and reasons for the choice, relevant experience and future career plans
6. In addition, each candidate should send three letters of reference. Two of the referees must be persons who taught the applicant in the university or appropriate institution. For a candidate with work experience, the third should be a professional with whom the candidate has worked. The letters of references should be sent directly to the address below by the referees.

All applications and letters of references should be sent by post or email to

West African Health Organisation (WAHO/OOAS)

Young Professional Internship Programme

01 BP 153 Bobo-Dioulasso 01,

Bukina Faso

Email: wahoypip2011@yahoo.fr

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