Recruitment notice : Consultant for immunization technical support at United Nations

International consultant for routine immunization and anti-COVID19 technical support – ( 2302494 )

Contractual Arrangement: External consultant
Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days): 12 months
Job Posting: Mar 17, 2023, 8:30:57 PM
Closing Date: Apr 10, 2023, 10:59:00 PM
Primary Location: Cameroon- Yaounde
Organization: AF_CMR Cameroon
Schedule: Full-time
 

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Background:

As immunization is one of the main priority areas for health in the WHO country programme, it continues its technical support to government at national and subnational levels to achieve the objectives of the national immunization program and the program of vaccination 2030 (AI 2030).

Cameroon, since Epidemiological Week (SE) 36-2022, is again in the control phase and the country has seen a continuous decline in the number of weekly cases nationwide with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 1.6 % and a cure rate of 98.4%. Since March 6, 2020, there have been five waves of resurgence of COVID-19 in Cameroon and four anti-COVId19 vaccination campaigns. The anti-COVD19 vaccination coverage is 8.6% (SE36-2022) for the total population against 17.3% of the targeted groups are fully vaccinated. During the 5th wave, the highest positivity rate was 8.2%, and the current positivity rate is 2.1% with 0.6 per 10,000 people of COVID-19 tests performed.

The challenges posed by the pandemic undermine the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Immunization (lA2030) which aims to leave no one behind in immunization and calls on all countries to halve the number of “children zero dose” by 2030. 25 million children were unvaccinated or under-vaccinated in 2021, 2 million more than in 2020, and 6 million more than in 2019. Coverage of the first dose against measles fell to 81% in 2021, leaving 5 million more children unvaccinated than in 2019. Recovery from declines in 2020 and 2021 is needed to meet IA2030 targets. To do this, 21 strategic priority objectives have been established for the prevention of diseases, the promotion of equity and the strengthening of immunization programs.

In collaboration with different partners, the Groupe Technique Central du program Expanded de Vaccination (GTC-PEV) has taken several initiatives to increase vaccination coverage and reduce inequalities. In addition, the government has also committed to eliminating measles and rubella. by 2023, while maintaining control of cVDPV2 outbreaks and maintaining eradication status for wild poliovirus and maternal and neonatal tetanus. Simultaneously, the rotavirus diarrhea vaccine switch, second dose of IPV and human papillomavirus in boys will be expanded or introduced.

Aware of all these challenges, WHO is recruiting an international immunization expert to scale up technical assistance to strengthen routine immunization and implement the COVID-19 immunization program with optimal quality.

Under the supervision of the WHO Country Representative and technical advice from the Country Office IVD Team Lead, the immunization expert will provide professional technical, operational and administrative assistance. Throughout the programming process within the country programme, from planning, development to the achievement of results, he will provide support in the preparation, execution, management and implementation of various technical and administrative program tasks to facilitate program development and implementation, monitoring program progress, and evaluating and reporting results.

Job profile:

Hold a medical degree with a master’s degree in public health/epidemiology from
Be immediately available.

Skills

Minimum 7 years of relevant professional experience in the field of immunization, including some years of international exposure;
Expertise in immunization and public health programs;
Ability to work closely with government, partners and international officials at all levels;
A good knowledge of the international context of the interventions of the various TFPs in the health sector, in particular those related to vaccination programs, would be an asset;
Good communication skills and excellent use of computers and information technology;
Expert knowledge of French and intermediate of English.

Specific tasks

Under the direct supervision of the WHO Representative in Cameroon, under the technical direction of the WHO Team lead of the IVD Program in Cameroon and in close collaboration with immunization partners, stakeholders and other WHO colleagues of the IVD Program, the incumbent will have the following responsibilities:

Technical assistance for the deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country: Specific assistance in the following areas:
Provide technical support for the continuous development and implementation of the national deployment plan vaccines for the country;
Support in-country vaccine mobilization through COVAX facility and Humanitarian Buffer
Work with the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) in the vaccine approval process for vaccines deployed in the country (when applicable);
Monitor vaccination sessions and the cold chain system and provide feedback to the Ministry of Health for corrective action;
Ensure the monitoring of the implementation of activities in favor of anti-covid 19 vaccination
Support the implementation of high-impact activities in favor of the vaccination of priority target groups
Provide support for the organization of an Intra Review -Action of anti-covid vaccination at national and regional level
Coordinate with partners to improve vaccination coverage and ensure equity of vaccination in the population.

Technical support for strengthening routine immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases in line with IA30 national/regional/global policies and strategies and more specifically: strengthening and sustaining high immunization performance, especially in areas at known zero doses and underimmunized.
Provide technical support for strengthening routine immunization scaling up and introduction of new vaccines, in particular:

Develop plans for scaling up routine immunization in general and in zero-dose, under-vaccinated/low-coverage areas in particular
Develop zero-dose reduction plan and support resource mobilization Support
to development of a digital solution for monitoring zero doses and under-immunized communities
Ensure the optimal introduction of new vaccines planned in the EPI program
Provide optimal support in the development of ACD microplans for the 200 HDs
Provide optimal support for the development a monthly Monitoring report on the implementation of the ACD and provide feedback to all stakeholders
Provide optimal support for the monitoring of consultants’ activities, including the organization of bi-monthly monitoring meetings Provide technical support for weekly
coordination meetings of the EPI and the Vaccination Services Delivery section
low-performing districts/regions
Provide technical support for the organization of half-yearly EPI performance monitoring meetings
Facilitate the holding and conduct of regular meetings of EPI support committees (CCIA, GTCNV, etc.)
Support the implementation of high-impact activities in favor of the vaccination of priority target groups
Ensure, in interaction with administrative and financial assistants, programmatic monitoring of GAVI awards (FPP, CDS, etc.)

Other
Coordination with donors, partners, United Nations agencies, such as UNICEF, and other stakeholders to support national authorities in managing meetings of the Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee for Immunization and COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Preparation
of project proposals for resource mobilization from potential donors including GAVI, USAID, DFID, CDC, etc
Provide technical assistance for the preparation of GAVI annual progress reports, joint evaluation…
Perform other tasks,

Work plan detailing the main deliverables as well as a timetable for the implementation and monitoring of said deliverables
Semi-annual and annual report on immunization in Cameroon
Situation analysis report on immunization in Cameroon
Concept note on the identification approach, vaccination and monitoring of zero doses and children under immunized and Zero dose vaccination project developed and submitted to partners for resource mobilization Vaccination acceleration
plan (COVID-19 and routine immunization) developed and submitted to partners with a view to resource mobilization
At least one scientific article on one aspect of COVID-19 immunization/vaccination in Cameroon developed and submitted to an international scientific journal for publication Different
projects developed and submitted to partners with a view to mobilizing resources
Data, information and various reports on COVID-19 vaccination and routine immunization produced or compiled, organized and put into an electronic platform in close collaboration with the country office experts in IT, archiving and site development.

Apply ONLY online via the form available at: https://careers.who.int/careersection/ex/jobdetail.ftl?job=2302494&tz=GMT%2B01%3A00&tzname=Africa%2FDouala