WHO's role in guideline development and other publications

12 January, 2025

Dear HIFA colleagues,

I am sharing this news release from WHO (with thanks to Jackeline Alger, HIFA-Spanish) largely because it helps us understand the rigorous process by which WHO develops guidelines. It also prompts me to ask a question (below).

Read in full:

https://www.who.int/news/item/06-01-2025-who-announces-the-development-o...

'WHO is convening a Guideline Development Group (GDG) for the development of new guidelines on the use of injectable lenacapavir as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV, and the optimization of HIV testing services for long-acting prevention products. These updates reflect WHO’s commitment to addressing evolving public health needs, particularly for populations disproportionately affected by HIV, and to improving access to high-quality HIV prevention and testing services globally.

'GDG members will contribute to the review of systematic reviews, evidence summaries, technical updates, and will propose recommendations. They will also participate in the GDG meeting, which will be held virtually between 28 and 30 January 2025.

'The general objective of this meeting is to develop WHO guidelines that will serve as a normative framework for the implementation of lenacapavir, a new HIV prevention product, and for simplified testing delivery models for pre-existing and new long-acting HIV prevention products...

'In accordance with WHO guidelines for developing recommendations, the GDG is composed of members from all WHO regions, serving in their individual capacities rather than as representatives of affiliated organizations. GDG members were selected by WHO technical staff based on their technical expertise, their role as end-users (e.g., programme managers and healthcare providers), and their representation of affected communities. Members do not receive financial compensation for their contributions to this process.

'Call for public comments

To ensure transparency and inclusivity, WHO invites members of the public and interested organizations to review the biographies of the GDG members and provide feedback. Comments can be submitted via email to hiv-aids@who.int by latest 20 January 2024. This feedback helps WHO develop high-quality guidelines that reflect diverse perspectives and respond to the needs of communities worldwide.'

COMMENT (NPW): This illustrates part of the rigour and transparency of WHO guideline development. Development of international guidelines is one of the most important practical functions of WHO, and it is uniquely positioned to do this work to the highest standards. By contrast, some other types of publications produced by WHO, including many that repackage evidence for end-users, could arguably be done by other stakeholders. I would be interested to understand how WHO prioritises its spending on publications. Would it be helpful to run a public consultation about this on communities of practice such as HIFA? I think ideally this would be done in collaboration with WHO (rather than separately) and could perhaps be undertaken as part of our HIFA-WHO Collaboration Plan 2025-2027.

Best wishes, Neil

HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org