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WHO Collaborating Centre

The designation of the Department of International Health as the WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Leadership and Workforce Development is a great honour and responsibility. Through it, our department supports the WHO within the European Region and beyond in generating scientific evidence, developing tools and methodologies, and capacity building interventions for public health. These actions aim to advance the professionalization and competencies of the public health workforce. Most specifically, we seek to make that workforce more resilient and able to meet diverse health, technological, socio-economical and geopolitical challenges to effectively improve health and well-being of the populations and individuals.

Through transformation, adaptation and development of skills among the workforce, we support the recognition of public health as a strong profession. Public health leadership is a leaver of change and our key focus area within workforce development.

By strengthening public health leadership at regional and country level, we empower action and help mobilize more and better resources for public health.

WHO Collaborating Centres

On October 10, 2025, two departments of the Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI) at Maastricht University launched their new WHO Collaborating Centres at a hybrid conference:

  1. The WHO Collaborating Centre for Regions for Health and Cross-Border Public Health
    led by the Department of Social Medicine.
  2. The WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Leadership and Workforce Development led by the Department of International Health.

Read more about the Collaborating Centres.

Specific objectives

  1. Support WHO in implementation and development of WHO European Public Health Leadership courses.
  2. Generate evidence to inform WHO’s activities on the development of the public health workforce in conformance with emerging needs.
  3. Support WHO to advance the professionalization of the public health workforce within the WHO European Region.
  4. Support the development of training and capacity building programmes for the public health workforce.
     

Our current projects

  • Supporting the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health (ECEH), Bonn, Germany in the development and validation of the Competency Framework for Environmental Health Professionals in the European Region.
  • Supporting Kyiv Mohyla Academy in the development of Educational Courses in Leadership in One Health and Emergency Preparedness with the support of the WHO Country Office for Ukraine.
  • Developing the Professionalization of the Public Health Workforce Programme for Ukraine supported by the WHO Country Office for Ukraine.
  • Supporting the WHO EURO in professionalization of the Public Health Workforce in Czech Republic through the competency-based education in public health in collaboration with the Charles University, Prague.
  • Development and validation of the digital health competencies for the Public Health Workforce in collaboration with ASPHER.
  • Development of the competencies for economic evaluations in public health.
  • Supporting the WHO EURO in identifying and developing contributing to strengthening the information system about the Public Health Workforce.
     

People make the WHO CC

WHO EURO Focal Point:
Emilia Aragón de León, WHO CC focal point and Technical Officer, Public Health Policy and strategy development, WHO Regional Office for Europe

DirectorProf. dr. Katarzyna Czabanowska
Vice DirectorProf. dr. Milena Pavlova
MembersStaff of the International Health Department in collaboration with representatives of SHE (Dr. Emmaline Brouwer) and HSR (Prof. dr. Wim Groot).