Country: Somalia
Closing date: 05 Feb 2016
TERMS OF REFERENCE Support to GAVI HSS grant implementation
Level: International Consultant / Expert Reports to: Country Program Advisor Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) , WHO Somalia Liason Office
Location: Somaliland, Puntland, Mogadishu
Contract Type: STC Duration: 6 months Start: 15 February 2016
Background Immunization coverage in Somalia is among the lowest in the world. Functional national health and immunization structures are lacking, especially at regional and district level. The access to immunization services is poor and paired with little awareness among communities. Outreach immunization activities are limited to campaigns and immunization district micro plans are not developed.
The 5-years GAVI grant on strengthening the Somali Health System is in its last year of implementation. It aimed to increase the access to essential health and especially immunization services through the deployment of a new cadre of Lady Health Workers (LHWs) at community level, the support to selected Health Posts and Maternal Child Health (MCH) Clinics and capacity building of Ministry of Health staff in programme management, monitoring and supervision as well as data analysis and operational research. In June 2015, a joint mission appraisal by the GAVI secretariat, WHO, UNICEF and the Somali Health Authorities assessed that activities planned under this programme have not yet overcome bottlenecks for improving routine immunization. Therefore, one of the key recommendations of the mission was to utilize the remaining project time to support the implementation of Somalia’s comprehensive Multi Year Plan for immunization that had been developed late 2015 to accelerate activities related to routine immunization.Purpose and scope of work The consultant will work in line with the operational work plan of the project as to support implementation of the One-EPI policy, under the guidance of EPI/Polio coordinator and the GAVI HSS the programme manager and in close collaboration with WHO and Ministry relevant technical staff in Somalia . The purpose of this assignment is to address bottlenecks for improving immunization coverage especially at the institutional and management level of routine immunization.
The specific tasks for this consultancy are the following: Assist health authorities in the production of district micro plans for immunization; Facilitate the kick-start of the integrative supportive supervision with specific attention to the quality of immunization services;
Facilitate the work of zonal immunization task forces and ensure inclusion of GAVI HSS activities;
Develop capacity building plans for regional and district health teams to manage and oversee routine immunization; Assist health authorities in implementing outreach services and other activities described in the One EPI plan. Assist zonal health information team in producing quality immunization data for decision making processes by management teams;
Work closely with zonal coordination committees and provide regular updates on EPI progress.Requirements 1) Education • University Degree in Medicine, Public Health or related subjects • Masters Degree in Public Health;
2) Work experience • Minimum 8 years of relevant working experience in developing countries; 3) Key Competencies • Experience in working successfully with a variety of health sector stakeholders, particularly governments and development partners, but also the private sector; • Solid oral communication skills targeting high-level policy audiences; • Appropriate computer skills necessary to analyze data; 4) Assets • Strong knowledge building and sharing skills; openness in sharing information and keeping people informed • Ability to build and cultivate strong productive relationships with internal and external client • Ability to interpret, analyze and resolve problems • Ability to conduct capacity assessments and support capacity-strengthening initiatives • Proven facilitation and training skills
5) General conditions • Remuneration depending on education and experience
How to apply:
Interested experts / expert groups should send their expression of interest, together with respective resumes and budget to Dr. Katja Schemionek, HSS programme advisor at WHO Somalia: schemionekka@who.int by February 5, 2015.