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Individual Contractor - Digital Community Health Information System Strengthening Contractor full time.

Maseru

  • Organization: UNICEF - United Nations Children’s Fund
  • Location: Maseru
  • Grade: Consultancy - International Consultant - Internationally recruited Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Public Health and Health Service
    • Social Affairs
    • Communication and Public Information
    • Information Technology and Computer Science
    • Civil Society and Local governance
    • Scientist and Researcher
  • Closing Date: Closed

Purpose of Activity/Assignment: Community Health is a public health component whose primary objective is to promote family and community-level health and disease prevention, ensuring universal access to primary health care as close to the population as possible. In Lesotho, community health care workers (CHW) remain a critical link between community and health facilities by fostering trust, improving children services for preventable diseases to reduce morbidity and mortality. CHW have also played a critical role in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout and routine immunization, through community mobilization, outreach campaigns, patient follow-up and community surveillance of adverse event following immunization (AEFI), as well as collecting data on the vaccination rollout at community level. However, the data collected by CHW remain inconsistent and only available at health facility or district level, hence not informing decision making process and planning for vaccination rollout and other healthcare services. The information captured by CHW is not being entered into the DHIS2 platform routinely, which has limited the Ministry of Health ability to access, utilize and monitor/feedback data on the COVID-19 vaccination rollout. There is an urgent need that surveillance and administrative data collected by CHW are digitalized and incorporated into health management information system (HMIS). There is an urgent need for establishment of georeferenced master list for the CHW and digitalised database to ensure high-performing HMIS by fully harnessing the role of CHW in collecting data and monitoring vaccination uptake at community level.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Hope

How can you make a difference?

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:
Community Health is a public health component whose primary objective is to promote family and community-level health and disease prevention, ensuring universal access to primary health care as close to the population as possible.
In Lesotho, community health care workers (CHW) remain a critical link between community and health facilities by fostering trust, improving children services for preventable diseases to reduce morbidity and mortality. CHW have also played a critical role in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout and routine immunization, through community mobilization, outreach campaigns, patient follow-up and community surveillance of adverse event following immunization (AEFI), as well as collecting data on the vaccination rollout at community level.
However, the data collected by CHW remain inconsistent and only available at health facility or district level, hence not informing decision making process and planning for vaccination rollout and other healthcare services. The information captured by CHW is not being entered into the DHIS2 platform routinely, which has limited the Ministry of Health ability to access, utilize and monitor/feedback data on the COVID-19 vaccination rollout. There is an urgent need that surveillance and administrative data collected by CHW are digitalized and incorporated into health management information system (HMIS).
There is an urgent need for establishment of georeferenced master list for the CHW and digitalised database to ensure high-performing HMIS by fully harnessing the role of CHW in collecting data and monitoring vaccination uptake at community level.
It is against this background that UNICEF is seeking consultancy services to assist the Ministry of Health in the development of the georeferenced master list and digitalised CHW database that will be linked to the national health management information system.. This will allow for monitoring health care interventions at community level, including risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) during COVID19 vaccination rollout and routine immunization.

Scope of Work: Under the overall supervision of the UNICEF Health Officer and in consultation with C4D Specialist, RCCE technical team and MOH Team (Community Based Health Services (CHBS) manager, IT manager and Chief Statistician) the consultant will:

1. Take stock/assess current Community Health Information Systems (CHIS) including Community COVID RCCE feedback structures: summarizing data follow and processes/standard operating procedures, current reporting rates/availability in the various information systems that capture community health data at present.

2. Construct CHW master list hosted in an electronic registry adopted from global goods open-source solutions that uses standards to allow the access, exchange, integration and use of data between information systems (including DHIS2).

3. Integrate the health care worker registry with all relevant workflows into the existing Health Information Exchange layer). The open-source solution must be interoperable with MOH Digital Health ecosystem structures.

4. Develop solution documentation and manuals and the establishment of GitHub source code repository, handover and training to MOH ICT team.

5. Develop an action plan to improve the CHIS (paper and electronic data capture), and integration of CHIS and RCCE data into DHIS2. 6. Digitalize CHW data and integrate into HMIS through linking community health care workers to their facility catchment area and district.

7. Support the Ministry of Health in operationalizing plans to improve the CHIS E that is interoperable with DHIS2.

8. Take stock after pilot implementation in 2 districts (Leribe and Maseru) including: changes in CHIS reporting rates; data availability, timeliness, and use; and make recommendations for expansion to routine immunization and other community health care services across the country

Work Assignment Overview:

To undertake the task, the consultant will be required to

1. Map out existing digital community feedback mechanisms that support Community health services: Coverage, Strengths, Systems, infrastructure,

2. Undertake SWOT analysis of the current MOH DHIS-2 System, determine presence or absence of community health indicators and provide recommendations.

3. Support upgrading of DHIS-2 Systems to include Community health indicators, development of community health feedback dashboards and produce monthly reports.

4. Facilitate training of National, District and facility level end users 

UNICEF is not responsible for providing any facility or equipment to manage this work with the highest quality

 

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum Qualifications required:

 Bachelors Degree

Enter Disciplines: BA in Engineering, Information Technology Work experience:

• More than 5 Years’ experience in IT and opensource systems development and implementation (Global Goods)

• More than 5 Years’ Experience in Health Informatics and eHealth systems development.

Language Fluency in English

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• Excellent communication and working with people

• Knowledge or familiarity with DHIS2 and its interoperability with open sources systems

• Knowledge Experience with Health Interoperability standards: HL7 V2, V3 and FHIRE

• Knowledge and Experience of Java & Node.Js

• Knowledge of Distributed Computing Architecture. • Knowledge of SOAP and REST web services

• Knowledge and Experience of Open HIMS mediator development. Open EMPI, and Open SHR

• Knowledge of CIEL dictionary. • Knowledge of coding standards like SNOMED and LOINC

• Knowledge with development of a National Georeferenced Community Health Worker Master List Hosted in a Registry

• Experience in Community Health Services

• Previous working experience with UN agencies is an added advantage

For every Child, you demonstrate care

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

How to Apply:
Interested candidates should submit an online application through the Talent Management System (TMS) that consists as a minimum of the following:
-TMS Profile/ Curriculum Vitae
-Financial proposal must be ‘all inclusive’ of all expenses related to the assignment
 
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
If you have not been contacted within 2 months of the closing date, please accept that your application was unsuccessful. Regret emails will be sent only to shortlisted/contacted candidates.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. The candidate may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid).

This vacancy is now closed.
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