The World Health Organisation recently provided an update on the membership of its Guideline Development Group on the health of trans and gender diverse people, and called for submissions.
Our submission follows submissions we made on 8 and 15 January 2024 with our coalition partners — AF4WR, CoAL, LGBAA, and WRNA — responding to previous announcements regarding this group (enclosed below). The WHO clarified in February that the group will focus solely on adults and they announced more recent proposal to include additional members to expand the group’s expertise, specifically in endocrinology, bioethics, mental health, and health policy and service delivery.
While we acknowledge these changes, we remain deeply concerned that the group lacks the diversity, balance, and expertise necessary to address this complex and sensitive topic. The group’s establishment and membership selection also appear to have proceeded without due reference to WHO standard procedures, as set out in the WHO handbook for guideline development. Non-compliance suggests poor internal risk management, which could result in substandard health guidance.
Our submission identifies several deficiencies that we think present unacceptable risk to the development of an important guideline. We urge the World Health Organisation to address these deficiencies before progressing.
Read our full submission, below.
