Public Health Consultant

Project Background:

Over 70,000 people from Afghanistan were evacuated to the U.S. in August of 2021. After stay at military base Safe Havens, these individuals and families were relocated to communities around the nation. Because of the difficulty of finding housing in many communities, as a stopgap measure many new arrivals were temporarily housed in congregant settings while sustainable housing options were being pursued. While more than two-thirds of IRC clients have secured permanent housing, many remain in temporary housing.

Scope of Work:

Managing health conditions and preventing the spread of Covid-19 and other infectious disease is more difficult in congregant settings. IRC is seeking a Public Health Consultant to rapidly assess the situation and develop policies, procedures, staff training, and client- and staff-facing materials to support IRC offices in preventing and managing COVID-19 outbreaks and other infectious diseases, strengthen IRC’s medical crisis response, support for pregnant and lactating women and infants, and build the capacity of residents to pro-actively manage health concerns. The project will occur over a 5-month period of time (May 2022 through September 2022) and include travel to at least four IRC sites in the U.S.

The consultant will work under IRC’s Technical Advisor for Health Promotion and consultant with cross-departmental health experts. The consultant is expected to engage IRC staff at local offices who are working within the congregant settings and clients who are living in congregant settings, as well as liaise with other stakeholders. 

Deliverables:

During the performance period, the Public Health Consultant is expected to deliver:

• A written summary of the current situation and health/health promotion needs in congregant settings. This will be based on the consultant conducting:

• Visits to at least four IRC program sites with congregant housing facilities
• Key informant interviews
• Focus groups
• Reviewing existing protocols and processes

• Standard Operating Procedures for COVID-19 prevention and response including risk mitigation, reporting, testing, triage for linkage to emergency health services in congregant settings.

• Standard Operating Procedures for prevention and management of urgent and emergent medical concerns in congregant settings, including establishing clear focal points, escalation pathways, crisis response, back-up measures, and documentation.

• Trainings to IRC staff on:

• SOPs as referenced above
• TOT on health promotion workshops

• Written material and guidance including:

• Service mapping template
• A checklist of activities local offices can do to strengthen the communication and coordination with local Public Health Departments
• Promising practices on how to increase mobile health services in congregant settings
• Client-facing health promotion materials
• Staff facing health promotion workshop materials