Last updated: 19th of October 2026

This policy explains how personal data is handled on this website, the personal website of Dr María Neira’s candidacy for WHO Director-General. It is not an official website of the World Health Organization.

1. Who is responsible for your data

The data controller is Dr María Neira. For any question about this policy or your data, write to marianeira.candidate@gmail.com.

2. What data we collect

When you use the contact form: your name, email address, organisation (if you give it) and your message.

When you visit the site: basic technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device, pages visited and approximate location, collected by our website provider to run the site and produce anonymous visitor statistics.

We do not ask for sensitive information. Please do not include it in your message.

3. Why we use it, and on what legal basis

Purpose

• Replying to messages sent through the contact form

• Our legitimate interest in responding to enquiries (Art. 6(1)(f))

• Running the website securely

Legal basis (GDPR)

• Our legitimate interest in operating a secure website (Art. 6(1)(f))

• Anonymous visitor statistics

• Your consent, given through the cookie banner (Art. 6(1)(a))

We do not use your data for marketing, we do not sell it, and we do not use it for automated decision-making or profiling.

4. Who we share it with

The website is hosted by Squarespace. Squarespace Ireland Limited stores contact form messages and site data on our behalf as a data processor, under Squarespace’s Data Processing Addendum, with Squarespace, Inc. (United States) as a sub-processor. Squarespace may also use some information about visits to the site as an independent controller, under its own privacy policy. We do not share your data with anyone else unless the law requires it.

5. International transfers

Some data may be processed in the United States by Squarespace, Inc. These transfers are covered by the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, with which Squarespace, Inc. complies, and otherwise by the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses.

6. How long we keep it

Contact form messages are kept for as long as needed to reply and, at the latest, until 12 months after the election of the WHO Director-General, after which they are deleted. Visitor statistics are kept in anonymous, aggregated form.

7. Your rights

You can ask to access, correct or delete your data, to restrict or object to its use, and to receive it in a portable format. Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time, for example through the cookie preferences link at the bottom of every page.

To exercise these rights, write to marianeira.candidate@gmail.com. We will reply within one month.

You also have the right to complain to the Spanish Data Protection Agency (Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, www.aepd.es) or to the data protection authority where you live.

8. Cookies

Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit a website.

Strictly necessary cookies are set by Squarespace so the site works and stays secure, for example to remember your cookie choices. They do not require consent.

Analytics cookies are set by Squarespace Analytics only if you accept them in the cookie banner. They help us understand, in aggregate, how the site is used.

We do not use advertising or social media tracking cookies. Videos are shown as images that link to YouTube; YouTube’s own policies apply once you leave this site.

You can change your choice at any time through the cookie preferences link at the bottom of every page, or by deleting cookies in your browser settings.

9. Links to LinkedIn and other sites

This site links to Dr Neira’s LinkedIn profile and to other websites such as YouTube and academic publishers. These are plain links: no data is shared with those sites until you click. Once you follow a link, that site’s own privacy policy applies.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. The date at the top shows when it was last changed.