Your privacy on the Internet is of utmost importance to WHO. This privacy statement describes WHO's policy concerning the gathering and sharing of visitors' information through the WHO web site. It applies to all "WHO sites" - that is, all sites within the "who.int" domain name.
What information does WHO collect?
Normal web site usage
In general, you can browse 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
If you register for a newsletter, log on to certain WHO sites, 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 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.
WHO sites with specific requirements to collect personal information may publish a privacy policy specific for that site. In these cases, the site-specific policies will be complementary to this general WHO privacy policy, but will give additional details for that particular site.
For certain WHO sites, registering or supplying personal information sets a cookie*. 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 web site usage
The information gathered during general browsing of the "who.int" domain is used to analyse trends and usage of the WHO site and to improve the usefulness of the site. 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 and registrations on the site;
• 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 site content most relevant to you; and
• conduct statistical analysis.
What if I don't want to provide personal information?
Providing personal information on the WHO site is optional. If you choose not to provide personal information, you can still browse and use the WHO site, but you will not be able to carry out certain actions such as purchase items, register for a newsletter or apply for a job.
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. Where contact details are not provided on the page, you can contact webmaster [at] afro.who.int for further information.
Security
We do not sell or share any personally identifiable information volunteered on the WHO site to any third party. Any information provided to WHO by users of the WHO site is held with the utmost care and security, and will not be used in ways other than as set forth in this privacy policy, 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 business matters, including personal data.
The WHO site contains links to sites external to the who.int domain. WHO is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such sites.
Notification of changes
Changes to this privacy policy will be posted on this web site.
Contact
For questions or queries regarding this privacy policy, please contact us at regafro [at] afro.who.int
* 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. It is stored on the hard drive of your computer. You can choose not to have cookies delivered by WHO sites 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.