The call for priority topics
On 19 August 2026, WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and PMNCH issued an open call for priority topics for an evidence review on advancing women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being beyond 2030. We asked researchers, governments, civil society, health service providers, young people and anyone else with an interest to suggest topics that need new analysis to guide action after 2030, and to propose people who could lead the work on each topic. The selected topics will form a series of about 12 to 15 analytical articles, planned for publication in 2028. The original call is available here.
The call has closed
The call closed at the end of the day on Wednesday 4 November 2026, in all time zones. By then, 1 534 suggestions had been received from submitters living in 138 countries. They came from researchers, civil society organizations, health service providers, governments, the private sector and other stakeholders, as well as from women, children and adolescents speaking for themselves.
We warmly thank everyone who took the time to send a suggestion. A summary of the received suggestions can be viewed here. Individual suggestions can be viewed here.
Who will appraise the suggestions
An independent Publications Working Group will appraise the suggestions. It has a main group of about 20 members and six subcommittees of 10 to 15 members each. Members serve in their personal capacity. They include academics, people who plan, manage and provide health services, representatives of civil society and youth, and staff of the UN partner organizations. Each subcommittee includes at least one member with experience in government policy or services, one from civil society and one young or early-career member, and the groups are balanced by region and gender.
All members declare their interests before the work starts. The declarations are appraised under WHO’s procedures for managing conflicts of interest, and due diligence is carried out for every member. Members do not rate suggestions they submitted themselves or in which they are named.
The secretariat of WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and PMNCH supports the work but has no role in rating or initial selection. Members of the Inter-Agency Working Group of the four organizations attend the meetings as observers.
How the suggestions will be appraised
The process has six steps.
- Allocation of suggestions, early November 2026. Every suggestion is considered as it was submitted, without screening or editing. Each one is allocated to one of six subcommittees: women’s health, including maternal and fetal health and stillbirth prevention; sexual and reproductive health and rights; child health, including newborn health; adolescent health and well-being; health systems and financing; and determinants and cross-cutting conditions. Many suggestions were tagged to more than one area. Each of these is rated in one subcommittee only, and the members of the other subcommittees concerned receive it for information.
- Individual rating, 9–20 November 2026. Each suggestion is rated individually by two or three members of its subcommittee, using common criteria and a common four-point scale. Each suggestion receives two separate scores.
The first score concerns the topic and is based on five criteria:
- the importance of the issue for health and well-being after 2030
- whether the analysis would bridge a knowledge gap and provide new insights
- its relevance to future risks and opportunities
- the clarity of the question and of the analytical approach
- its usefulness for policy.
The second score concerns feasibility and is based on two criteria:
- whether a high-quality analysis can be completed within the available time and resources
- the capacity of the proposed contributors to lead and coordinate the work.
The two scores are kept separate, so that an important topic is not set aside only because of how, or by whom, it was proposed to be done.
- Subcommittee shortlists, late November and early December 2026. The secretariat compiles the ratings into a summary for each subcommittee. Each subcommittee then meets and agrees on 5 to 10 priority topics. The ratings inform the discussion, but topics are not chosen simply by adding up scores: the shortlist reflects the collective judgement of the subcommittee. Subcommittees may merge, narrow or reframe suggestions. They may also add an essential topic that did not come through the call.
- Joint recommendation, December 2026. The full Publications Working Group brings the shortlists together into one recommendation by about 10 December 2026. The recommendation covers the topics for the article series, about 12 to 15 articles, and the potential lead contributors for each.
- Consultation, mid-December 2026 to 25 January 2027. The recommendation will be open for comment, together with a summary of all suggestions and the subcommittee shortlists. There will be a written public consultation open to everyone, as well as open and targeted live sessions. Participants can also argue for topics that were not taken forward. Details on how to take part will be posted on this page.
- Decision, end of January 2027. The Inter-Agency Working Group of WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and PMNCH will review the recommendation of the independent Publications Working Group and the input from the consultation, and decide on the final list of topics and lead contributors. All submitters will be informed of the outcome. A short note on what was heard in the consultation and how it was taken into account will also be published.
Contributors and funding
After the decision, the Inter-Agency Working Group of WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and PMNCH will approach the proposed lead contributor for each topic. Each lead contributor will be invited to assemble and coordinate a team. The partner organizations are seeking funding for this work, but at present they cannot offer financial support to contributors. When we approach contributors, we will therefore ask whether they would be willing to contribute their time and expertise in kind. If funding becomes available, we will let contributors know.
Topics that are not taken forward for the series will be recorded. They will remain available to other evidence review processes, including those of the partner organizations.
Contact
Please contact Dr Per Ashorn at ashornp@who.int