Programme Support​

Good health is a precious thing. When we are healthy we can learn, work, and support ourselves and our families. When we are sick, we struggle, and our families and communities fall behind. That’s why the World Health Organization is needed. Working with 194 Member States, across six regions, and from more than 150 offices, WHO staff are united in a shared commitment to achieve better health for everyone, everywhere. The principle that all people should enjoy the highest standard of health, regardless of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition, has guided WHO’s work for the past 70 years, since it was first set up as the lead agency for international health in the new United Nations system. WHO works worldwide to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable. Our goal is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and well-being.

Lebanon is facing an unprecedented series of crises that have severely impacted its healthcare system. These crises, including the influx of Syrian refugees, the COVID-19 pandemic, the devaluation of the Lebanese lira, the devastating Beirut blast, and outbreaks of measles and cholera, have collectively created an already overwhelming an already fragile healthcare infrastructure and exacerbated the vulnerability of the Lebanese population. In addition, there are 3.7 million of people in need of health assistance, including 2.2 million Syrians and 1.3 million Palestinians. The impact on health care due to regional escalation has been particularly devastating for Lebanon.

Lebanon is inclined to possibility of communicable disease outbreaks, zoonosis, and vaccine preventable disease in due course of decreased immunization coverage, reported multiple layers of fragilities within the battered health system which is adopted by the international community where government facilities are limited in number compare to the private sector, the ongoing War and sporadic cases of insecurity, the massive population movement reported during the last few years within the country and through cross borders, repeated infectious disease outbreaks in the region together with insecurity across Lebanon borders with Syria and Palestine territories. The battered infrastructure in some locations, together with the scarcity of water, Sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). interventions associated with increased risk of water-borne disease outbreaks, for instance, Cholera and hepatitis A.

The potential of increased risk of communicable disease transmission emphasizes the urgency for well well-operating communicable disease surveillance system. Such a system must be built to be sensitive to any potential health risk and disease-specific, including both those that have a tendency to outbreaks and public health emergencies of international concern. The system should be linked to strong epi-laboratory/ laboratory surveillance to provide timely confirmation of biological samples.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of [WHE Team Lead] or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UNV [Programme Support] will:

- Assist in coordinating and supporting health emergency and surveillance technical activities;
- Assist in the development of tools to strengthen emergency response and disease surveillance at the national, subnational and community levels;
- Assist in strengthening the capacities of surveillance teams for the effective and sustained surveillance of epidemic-prone diseases;
- Assist in conducting, in collaboration with other team members, real-time analysis of outbreak intelligence data, from a broad range of sources including non-health sectors, for epidemic forecasting and detection;
- Contribute to the preparation of progress reports, briefings, proposals, reports and communications required for strategic decision making;
- Facilitate and support the implementation of Pandemic Fund activities in coordination with other team members;
- Support in documenting success stories and lessons learned in the context of WHE’s areas of work;
- Work closely with unit WHE team to facilitate communication between WHE and other team members, notably UHC/Healthier population and operation teams;
- Provide administrative and programmatic support to the WHO Lebanon emergency team, including to support organizing meetings and workshops, developing minutes, preparing related documents, and facilitating administrative procedures;
- Undertake any other related tasks/duties assigned by supervisors.

Results/expected outputs
- As an active WCO team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to WCO Lebanon and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including:
1) Reporting and documentation of all action plans communicated at country level for strategic decision making
2) Synthesize of existing reports and assist in strengthening information and Knowledge management system to maintain and improve all activities databases
3) Coordination evidence gathering to have a chronicle of success stories and lessons learned in the context of WHE’s areas of work.
4) Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment
5) A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed