Privacy Statement; Terms of Use and Disclaimers

Your privacy is of utmost importance to the World Health Organization (WHO). This privacy statement describes WHO's policy concerning the gathering and sharing of visitors' information through WHO online resources, including this collaborative workspace.

What information does WHO collect?

Normal browsing

In general, you can browse WHO online resources the WHO site without telling us who you are or revealing any personal information about yourself. The only information we gather during general browsing is from standard server logs. These include your IP (Internet Protocol) address, domain name, browser type, operating system, and information such as the web site that referred you to us, the files you download, the pages you visit, and the dates/times of those visits.

Collection of personally identifiable information

For some WHO online resources and collaborative workspaces, the user will be required to register. If you register for a newsletter, log on to certain online resources, order a book, request information, provide feedback, apply for a job, join a discussion group or join an electronic mailing list, you will be asked to provide personal information such as your name, postal address, phone number and e-mail address.

This information is collected only with your knowledge and permission, and is kept in various WHO databases and mailing lists. If you are purchasing something using the web, you may be asked to provide your credit card details. These details are transferred to a secure, online payment service, hosted outside WHO. Credit card information is not retained by WHO.

For certain WHO sites, registering or supplying personal information sets a cookie. (See below for an explanation of cookies). By setting this cookie, WHO will remember your details the next time you visit, so you don't have to re-enter the information. This helps us to provide you with a better service.

Joining electronic discussion groups may mean that other participants of the discussion group (including non-WHO employees) will see personal information that you have volunteered. For open discussion groups, this information will be public.

What does WHO do with the information it collects?

Normal browsing

The information gathered during general browsing of WHO online resources is used to analyse trends and usage of the WHO online resources and to improve their usefulness. It is not connected with any personal information.

Personally identifiable information

WHO may use the personal information you provide to:

• Contact you – either in response to a query or suggestion, or to mail newsletters, documents, publications etc. to you;
• Manage and process your job application;
• Confirm your purchases on the site;
• Confirm your registration to WHO online resources and collaborative workspaces;
• Obtain payment for purchases through the site (via credit card);
• "Remember" your online profile and preferences;
• Help you quickly find information that is relevant to you based on your interests, and help us create content most relevant to you;
• Statistical analysis.

What if I don't want to provide personal information?

Providing personal information on some WHO online resources is optional. If you choose not to provide personal information, you can still browse and use the online resources, but you will not be able to carry out certain actions such as purchase items, register for a newsletter or apply for a job. For other WHO online resources, some personal information is required for registration purposes.

Opting out and changing your information

At any time, you can cancel or modify your information by returning to the web page where you first provided the information and contacting the focal point for that page/WHO department.

Security

We do not sell or share any personally identifiable information volunteered on WHO online resources to any third party. Any information provided to WHO by users of WHO online resources is held with the utmost care and security, and will not be used in ways other than as set forth in this privacy statement, or in any site-specific policies, or in ways to which you have explicitly consented. WHO employs a range of technologies and security measures to protect the information maintained on our systems from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

All our employees who have access to, and are associated with the processing of personal data, are obliged to respect the confidentiality of official matters, including personal data.

Contact

For questions or queries regarding this privacy statement, please contact us at internet@who.int

WHO reserves the right to update this privacy statement without notice.

Cookies
A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent from a web server to your browser. It is normally used to assign a unique identification to your computer and securely store information such as user IDs, passwords, preferences, and online profiles.

A cookie is stored on the hard drive of your computer. You can choose not to have cookies delivered by WHO online resources by changing your browser settings. Different web sites can send their own cookies to your computer. To protect your privacy, your browser only allows a web site to access the cookies it has already sent you, not the cookies sent by other sites.

Terms of use and disclaimers

Please take note of the following terms of use and disclaimers. By accessing World Health Organization (WHO) online resources, including this collaborative workspace, the user agrees to accept these terms of use and disclaimers. WHO reserves the right to update these terms of use and disclaimers without notice.

This collaborative workspace is intended for the use of registered users for the purpose of managing information about WHO's work in an interactive and collaborative manner. The content within the collaborative workspace is intended for the internal use of registered users only and may not be disclosed, shared, distributed or transmitted to persons outside the user community, or duplicated, republished, reused for presentation or used in any other way, including for advertising or commercial purposes, without the prior written consent of WHO.

The views expressed in the collaborative workspace are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of WHO.

Although all reasonable precautions have been taken to verify the content contained in the collaborative workspace, in no event shall WHO be responsible for the accuracy of information posted by any user on the collaborative workspace. WHO makes no warranties or representations regarding the completeness or accuracy of any content posted on the collaborative workspace and shall not be held liable for any damages whatsoever as a result of its use or application. The responsibility for the interpretation and use of the content lies with the reader and/or user. WHO reserves the right to make updates and changes to posted content without notice and accepts no liability for any errors or omissions in this regard.

WHO accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any inaccurate advice or information that may be posted on the collaborative workspace or referred to in sources reached via links or other external references to the content of the collaborative workspace.

The collaborative workspace may contain links to resources on external websites. WHO is not responsible for the accuracy or content of any external link.  The presence of any resource or external link on the collaborative workspace does not imply that the resource, or its author or entity, is endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization. These links are provided for convenience only.  

The designations employed and the presentation of content on the collaborative workspace, including maps and other illustrative materials, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WHO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delineation of frontiers and borders. Dotted lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement.

The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers' products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by WHO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters.