The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN’s Special Programme in Human Reproduction (HRP) is publishing the proposed membership of the Guideline Development Group for WHO’s upcoming Recommendations on Expanding Contraception Options.
The Guideline Development Group is a group of experts external to WHO that will provide scientific advice and guidance to WHO on the technical content, organization, presentation and dissemination of these Recommendations. Members have been identified by the WHO Guideline Steering Group in collaboration with Regional Advisors for Sexual and Reproductive Health, and is composed of experts with extensive and diverse experience in family planning, contraception, public health, epidemiology, pharmacology, health systems, innovations and technology, nursing and midwifery, guideline development, research, etc.
The Guideline Development Group will meet from 17–19 June 2025 at WHO’s headquarters in Geneva to:
- appraise the evidence that will inform the development of the recommendations and formulate recommendations using a consensus-based approach;
- propose any outstanding research gaps; and
- highlight any implementation considerations.
The proposed group will provide recommendations on the efficacy, safety and acceptability of selected contraceptive methods that are registered and used in various countries, but not currently in the WHO Medical eligibility criteria for contraceptive use. It will also assess some contraceptive options that are used differently from the WHO Selected practice recommendations for contraceptive use.
The WHO normative meeting is by invitation only. In keeping with the requirements of the WHO Guidelines Review Committee and the WHO Compliance, Risk Management and Ethics Office, we are posting online short biographies of the guideline development group members. The listed candidates have also submitted a declaration of interest form stating any conflict of interest. WHO has applied its internal processes to ensure that the performance of the above tasks by members of this group will be transparent and without any significant conflict of interests (academic, financial or other) that could affect the credibility of the guideline.
In line with WHO policy on conflict of interest, the public and interested organizations can access the biographies of the Guideline Development Group members and inform WHO of any concerns around individual member’s participation in the expanding contraceptive options guideline development group. The list comprises 19 members. All comments should be sent by email to srhcfc@who.int by 6 June 2025.
Note:
Members of the Guideline Development Group (GDG) participate in the guideline development process and at meetings in their individual capacity and not as representatives of the institutions or organizations with which they are affiliated. Members of the GDG will not receive an honorarium, remuneration or compensation for their participation. The participation of experts in a WHO meeting does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the WHO nor does it create a binding relationship between the experts and WHO.
The biographies have been provided by the experts themselves and are the sole responsibility of the individuals concerned. WHO is not responsible for the accuracy, veracity and completeness of the information provided. In accordance with WHO conflict of interest assessment policy, expert’s biographies are published for transparency purposes.
Comments sent to WHO are treated confidentially and their receipt will be acknowledged through a generic email notification to the sender. WHO reserves the right to discuss information received through this process with the relevant expert with no attribution to the provider of such information. Upon review and assessment of the information received through this process, WHO, in its sole discretion, may take appropriate management of conflicts of interests in accordance with its policies.