| Job Description - Consultants-Technical support to the MCDE initiative- CDP/HPD Band Level A (2604816)
Consultants-Technical support to the MCDE initiative- CDP/HPD Band Level A-(2604816)
Contractual Arrangement:External consultant
Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days):9 months
Job Posting: Nov 4, 2026, 6:57:00 AM
Closing Date: Nov 11, 2026, 5:59:00 PM
Primary Location: Egypt-Cairo
Organization: EM/HPD Health Promotion, Disease Prevention & Control
Schedule: Full-time
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Purpose of the consultancy
To provide technical support to the multi-communicable disease elimination (MCDE) initiative in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR).
This includes compiling and reviewing technical input to support the finalization of the EMRO MCDE framework; conducting reviews and compiling information to support the implementation of the MCDE Resolution, including on cross-border collaboration and the investment case; compiling information to support country-level MCDE planning and dialogues; and providing technical input to the MCDE regional portal/dashboard and to the integration of climate-sensitive indicators and climate-epidemiological information into surveillance systems
Background
The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) carries a high burden of multiple communicable diseases, including hepatitis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), tuberculosis (TB) and mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B, which together accounted for more than 8 million disability-adjusted life years in 2023. National elimination efforts remain largely vertical and fragmented, progress is uneven and vulnerable to reversal, and elimination cannot be sustained in one country while neighboring countries remain reservoirs of transmission.
Elimination is further challenged by drug and insecticide resistance, invasive vectors and the growing impact of climate change, as floods, droughts and extreme weather alter transmission and disrupt services, and by population mobility, mass gatherings, protracted conflict and humanitarian crises. Disease elimination therefore has to be pursued as a shared regional commitment rather than a national objective alone.
In response, WHO EMRO has launched a regional Multi-Communicable Disease Elimination (MCDE) initiative to integrate interventions across disease-specific programmes, harmonize service delivery and accelerate measurable progress at national, subnational and cross-border levels. At the request of the Regional Committee (RC73) Sub-committee, a Technical Paper and Resolution on a multi-disease elimination architecture for communicable diseases will be presented at RC73 in 2026. The paper, developed through two consultations with Member States and experts, includes an initial MCDE heatmap and framework to be refined with further evidence and expert consensus and finalized as an EMRO strategy document after adoption. The next phase after RC73 will be to publish an EMRO document including the MCDE approach and full framework, and to implement the recommendations to the Regional Director included in the Resolution.
Climate change is a direct determinant of progress towards elimination for several MCDE priority diseases, in particular malaria and vector-borne NTDs. Resolution EM/RC72/R.6 (2025) and the operational action plan for climate change and health 2026 to 2030 call for the integration of climate information into national disease surveillance and early warning, with progress reported from RC74 in 2027. The Climate Change, Health and Environment (CHE) unit is developing country guidance on integrating climate and disease surveillance, a regional implementation dashboard and national vulnerability and adaptation assessments in priority countries; these workstreams, in progress, provide the entry point for aligning the MCDE initiative with climate-informed surveillance.
Work to be performed
Required Qualifications
Output 1: Support to compile expert input from the members of the Regional Technical Advisory Group (RTAG) on MCDE for the full development and finalization of the MCDE framework.
Deliverable 1.1: Support the organization of a series of online meetings of the MCDE RTAG to discuss the full development of the MCDE framework and related EMRO document.
Deliverable 1.2: Provide technical review of the RTAG members’ input on the MCDE framework and propose how to integrate it
Output 2: Support the implementation of the MCDE Resolution
Deliverable 2.1: Develop a questionnaire and a desk review regarding the status of integration of the six shared health system functions that underpin the EMRO MCDE architecture, in the Region and in selected EMR countries.
Deliverable 2.2: Make a desk review about the existing formal cross-border collaborations within EMR and beyond, in particular in the context of communicable diseases prevention and control.
Deliverable 2.3: Summarize input from relevant partners and selected Member States on improvements needed on multisectoral and structured mechanisms for cross-border collaborations in the context of the MCDE initiative.
Deliverable 2.4: Make a rapid search of existing investment cases used in multi-disease elimination programmes, list them in an organized spreadsheet and make them available to the team in organized folders; contribute in collection of information and data to be used for the MCDE investment case which will be performed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and development, in collaboration with the CDP teams.
Output 3: Support to EMRO leadership and CDP technical teams for country support and dialogues on MCDE
Deliverable 3.1: Support the preparation and conduct of country dialogues to develop tailored MCDE plans and MCDE packages, including compiling information from mission reports and other sources, in collaboration with technical teams and WCOs.
Output 4:Provide technical inputto launch and regularly update the MCDE regional portal/dashboard and to integrate climate and environmental indicators into national communicable disease surveillance systems
Deliverable 4.1: Liaise with IT to test the MCDE regional portal/dashboard before the launch and to incorporate any changes emerging from the testing
Deliverable 4.2: Collaborate with EMRO senior leadership and the technical teams to provide updated sets of validated data for the periodical update of theMCDE regional portal/dashboard..
Deliverable 4.3:Compile, for the climate-sensitive diseases among the MCDE priority diseases (malaria, leishmaniasis and other vector-borne neglected tropical diseases), a minimum set of climate-sensitive indicators with data sources and alert thresholds, drawing on the CHE unit country guidance on integrating climate and disease surveillance developed under resolution EM/RC72/R.6, and propose how these indicators are reflected in the MCDE regional portal/dashboard.
Deliverable 4.4: Gather and compile country data on climate-informed surveillance progress from existing sources, in a format ready for the EM/RC72/R.6 implementation dashboard and provide written technical input on aligning the data with the MCDE regional portal/dashboard.
Deliverable 4.5: Participate with the CHE unit and the WHO country offices in the preparation of pilots for the integration of climate-epidemiological data into surveillance of MCDE priority diseases in one or two EMR countries, according to a pilot protocol.
Qualifications required:
Essential: First University degree in medicine and surgery
Desirable:
-Master’s degree in public health, infectious diseases or health management.
-Diplomas or other educational degrees in epidemiology or statistics
Experience:
Up to 5 years of experience working in the field of public health and infectious diseases, including implementation in low- and middle-income countries and integration of diseases programmes. Experience in indicators’ and dashboards’ development, data collection, and monitoring systems.
Skills/ Technical knowledge
Excellent project planning and coordination, expert English writing of documents, as well as knowledge about public health and/or infectious diseases interventions.
Language
-Essential: English
-Desirable: Arabic
Location:
EMRO, Cairo. On-site consultant
Medical clearance:
The selected Consultant will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.
Travel