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CONSULTANT - TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF THE MALARIA VACCINE INTRODUCTION

Brazzaville

  • Organization: WHO - World Health Organization
  • Location: Brazzaville
  • Grade: Consultancy - International Consultant - Internationally recruited Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Public Health and Health Service
    • Malaria, Tuberculosis and other infectious diseases
  • Closing Date: Closed

  1. Purpose of the consultancy


Please briefly describe why the work is needed and the context.

In October 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a recommendation for the first malaria vaccine, called RTS,S/AS01, to be used for the prevention of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in children living in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high transmission. The pilot phase launched in 2018 in 03 African countries (Ghana, Kenya, Malawi) under the coordination of the WHO MVIP Regional Implementation Support Unit demonstrated positive results in disease burden reduction.

Based on this result, the intervention will be scaled up to other eligible African countries from the year 2023. Thanks to an innovative financing agreement between Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and MedAccess, vaccine doses are available to initiate the Gavi-supported malaria vaccine roll-out to countries based on the submission of proposals.

However, current estimates suggest that the initial supply of the vaccine is insufficient to meet the needs of over 25 million children born each year in regions with moderate to high malaria

transmission. As a result, a Framework for the allocation of limited malaria vaccine supply was adopted and outlines the values, allocation principles, governance principles and key considerations for implementation. The Framework offers guidance on the global allocation of RTS,S/AS01, and other malaria vaccines as they become available, between countries, and guidance on prioritization of areas for vaccination within countries until supply constraints can be fully resolved.

Countries are therefore expected to submit requests which take into consideration the populations in highest need and deploy vaccines where the highest impact can be achieved. This requires analysing existing data to stratify risks and integrate the vaccine intervention into a subnational tailoring approach and prioritizing intervention sites based on available supplies and resources.

In this vain, there is a need to recruit a consultant who will be based at the WHO Regional Office under the guidance of the Tropical and Vector Borne Diseases (TVD) the Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD) team leader within the AFRO UCN cluster, to provide support to countries in the Region.

The purpose of this consultancy is to to ensure that member states are adequately supported, and also appropriate guidance provided in the adoption and implementation of malaria vaccine intervention

Objectives:

The overall objective is to ensure that member states are adequately supported, and also appropriate guidance provided in the adoption and implementation of malaria vaccine intervention and specifically:

The specific objectives are as follows:

  1. Support the adoption and update of policy recommendations on the use of the RTS,S malaria vaccine in member states;
  2. Support countries in the implementation and documentation of best practices in the roll out of the vaccine intervention
  3. Facilitate the adaptation of health information systems to monitor the introduction and scale-up of the vaccine
  4. Support evaluation of the malaria vaccine within the scope of Program reviews or development of national strategic plans

Organizational Context

Under the supervision of the UHC/Communicable and Non-communicable Diseases Director and in collaboration with the TVD Team Lead at the WHO Regional Office, the consultant will work closely with the WHO Country Office Malaria and Vaccination Teams, the COGs, the Ministry of Health, WHO AFRO and HQ staff to fulfil the specific objectives that will be validated for each mission, and submit comprehensive report upon completion of the mission.

  1. Description of duties

Outline clear tasks and deliverables, to be carried out in the framework of the background described above.

These need to be time-bound and specific.

The key deliverables include the following:

  1. Monthly reports of work carried out as per the assignments/plan tasks to be executed.
  2. Technical support mission reports outlining the main activities conducted main findings and recommendations.
  3. Reports of meetings with national authorities, the WR, and key partners and other stakeholders.
  4. Detailed reports of field visits to the districts of the countries concerned.
  5. Final consultancy report.
  6. Perform other related tasks as requested by the supervisor.
  1. Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Identify the educational qualifications and expertise needed for the terms of reference outlined above.

Educational Qualifications

Essential: Medical degree with postgraduate degree in Epidemiology, Public Health or other health related field.

Desirable: Experience in immunisation or EPI programmes or working experience in malaria control programme or malaria research at national or international level.

Technical Expertise

  1. Medical background with public health experience in malaria prevention and control.
  2. Proven knowledge of the principles and practices of communicable disease epidemiology.
  3. Proven expertise on the development and evaluation of disease surveillance systems in a public health setting with specific expertise in malaria surveillance and operational research.
  4. High-level technical expertise and knowledge of WHO malaria policies in the development and evaluation of systems, policies, strategies, guidelines and tools for malaria prevention and control.

Experience

  1. At least 7 years’ experience of relevant work at the national and international levels.
  2. Experience in supporting research activities and/or conduct of research.

Skills/Knowledge

  1. Experience working with WHO would be an asset.
  2. Demonstrated experience in working with MOH and partners on the development, planning, implementation or monitoring and evaluation of health strategies and programmes.
  3. Experience using data for decision making.

Competencies:

Candidate should be able to:

  1. Excellent Communication skills including report writing and presentation skills.
  2. Fostering integration and teamwork including the ability to work as a team member and sensitive to working in a multi-cultural environment.
  3. Building and promoting partnerships across organisations.
  4. Computer skills: Ms Word, Ms Excel and Power point, spreadsheets and data analysis.
  5. Produce results
  6. Ensure effective use of resources
  7. Move forward in a changing environment
  8. Respect and promote individual and cultural differences; building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond.

Languages and level required

Excellent knowledge of English or French

A good working knowledge of a second international language (English, French or Portuguese) would be an advantage.

  1. Travel - If travel is involved, full medical clearance is required

Please specify any expected travel(s): dates, location and purpose.

A living expense is payable to on-site consultants – please refer to Information Note 08/2019 for details on eligibility.

Place of assignment: Field assignment

5. Remuneration and budget (travel costs excluded)


Rate [daily or monthly or for language and publishing services by word count or number of pages]:

Proposed level: P4 or P5 based on qualification and experience.

Currency:

United States Dollars (USD)

Work schedule (if applicable) :

Please refer to Information Note 09/2021 for guidance on rates for consultants.

This vacancy is now closed.
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