WHO Collaborating Centre for Adolescent Health

The Centre for Adolescent Health—an initiative of the University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics, the Royal Children’s Hospital, and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute—was designated the World Health Organization’s first non-European Collaborating Centre in Adolescent Health. 

​As a WHO Collaborating Centre, the Centre provides technical advice and support to WHO headquarters, regional offices, and member countries on a wide range of adolescent health priorities, including: 

  • ​Technical assistance in the development of advocacy materials highlighting the health sector’s role in adolescent health 

  • ​Support in the creation of a core set of WHO adolescent health indicators, including the development of new metrics 

  • ​Strengthening of global and national systems for data collection, monitoring, and analysis 

  • ​Contributions to WHO guidelines on improving health services for adolescents, developed by the Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (MCA) 

  • ​Support for the development of a global research agenda for adolescent health 

​The Centre has played key leadership roles in global initiatives, including: 

  • ​Chairing the 2013 WHO committee on global indicators for adolescent health 

  • ​Contributing to the Helping Adolescents Thrive (HAT) initiative 

  • ​Serving on the advisory group for Accelerating Action for Adolescent Health (Global AA-HA!) 

​In recent years, the Centre has led a major joint project with WHO and UNESCO, resulting in the launch of the first-ever Global Standards and Indicators for Health Promoting Schools and Systems, along with an accompanying Implementation Guidance.