About us
History of the WHO Lyon Office
The WHO Lyon Office was inaugurated on 8 February 2001 to support WHO regional offices in their commitment to help developing countries improve their public health epidemiology and laboratory diagnostic competencies. The Office grew out of the vision of the French Government, the Grand Lyon, the Fondation Mérieux and WHO and the partnership on which the office was founded was agreed to for a five year period. Lyon was chosen as the site of the WHO Office because of its scientific, institutional and industrial development strategy, centred on vaccinology, immuno-virology and biotechnology.
Over the past five years, the scope of activities in the Office was broadened, and since November 2006, it is part of the IHR Coordination Programme at WHO headquarters. An additional role of the Office is now to assist countries to strengthen their core public health capacities for disease surveillance and response, which will in turn strengthen international public health security.
A new partnership agreement was signed on 13 April 2005 to maintain the WHO Lyon Office until 2010. Two new local partners - the Rhône-Alpes Region and the Rhône Department - have joined this endeavour for the next five years. The Institut Pasteur, which had already joined the initial partnership, also signed the new agreement.
Following the International Agency for Research on Cancer, this is the second WHO office in Lyon.
Contact us
WHO Lyon Office
58, avenue Debourg
F-69007 Lyon
France
E-mail: ihrinfo@who.int