Country: Lesotho
City: Maseru
Type: Volunteer, International – Full Time, 6+ months
(eligible for benefits)
Business Unit: Country Programs - Country Teams
Overview:
The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI – formerly the
Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative) has been working in Lesotho since 2004 to address
some of the most urgent health care needs of the nation. CHAI’s work supports
the rapid expansion of access to high quality, essential healthcare for all who
need it by improving the organization of commodity markets and by enabling the
effective delivery of health services and efficient management of health
systems thereby optimizing the use of available resources to save more lives.
CHAI has worked to strengthen the Lesotho health system by improving management
of health services and availability of human resources for health,
strengthening the supply and distribution system, improving laboratory services
and planning for sustainable health financing.
Lesotho has the second highest percentage prevalence of HIV
in the world, with large numbers of children exposed to and living with
HIV. Most of the health facilities in the country are now providing
pediatric care and treatment, and efforts are under way to identify more
children and enroll them for care. However, the health system must be
strong enough to supply the necessary drugs and laboratory monitoring tests for
this new generation of pediatric HIV patients. While capacity has
developed over time, the complexity of certain pediatric HIV commodities causes
forecasts to be challenging and the upcoming scale up of treatment for children
will require close attention in order to forecast appropriately and procure
commodities on time. The MOH has recently introduced a new Supply Chain
Management unit, which is responsible for developing forecasts across commodity
classes, and is planning to strengthen supply chain management project.
In addition, the National Drug Supply Organization holds key responsibilities
in ensuring adequate supply of drugs and reagents to Lesotho.
The Innovation in Pediatric Market Access (IPMA) project has
the goal to promote sustained access to diagnostics and treatment for
HIV-exposed and positive children with the stable supply of optimal pediatric
HIV commodities.
Responsibilities:
The Volunteer, Pediatric HIV Access will provide targeted
support to the Ministry of Health of Lesotho to improve access to essential
commodities for pediatric HIV prevention and care. Specific
responsibilities include:
- Support
the National Reference Laboratory with implementation of the Early Infant
Diagnosis program, particularly by ensuring continuous supply of commodity
reagents and supporting electronic transmission of results;
- Support
quantification, forecasting, and stock monitoring of pediatric HIV drugs
and related lab commodities, by providing support to and building capacity
of the new SCM unit;
- Provide
technical and analytical support to upcoming scale up of EID POC devices,
including advising on appropriate equipment selection for Lesotho;
- Support
planning for implementation and effective use of viral load testing for
clinical assessment and improved adherence for children;
- Increase
capacity of the SCM unit by coordinating training on available forecasting
tools and supporting quantification exercises as needed;
- Support
NDSO to develop supply plans mapped to funding streams (track available
funding for constraints and report to TWG);
- Disseminate
information on global market supply trends through quarterly
pediatric update memos;
- Support
MOH to establish in-country optimal product list to be used to
guide product selection and procurement, and prescription;
- Participate
in monthly SCM Technical Working Group meetings to address SCM issues;
- Any
other technical areas that contribute to improving access to pediatric HIV
commodities in Lesotho.
The Volunteer will work closely with the Associates on Lab
and TB, the Country Support Manager for drug access, and will report to the
Country Director.
Qualifications:
- University
degree, preferably with a quantitative focus
- 2+
years of experience in public or private sector, in an analytical role
- Good
skills in Microsoft Excel
- Excellent
problem solving, analytical and quantitative skills
- Ability
to think strategically, handle ambiguity and work in a very fast-paced,
limited-structure, multicultural environment
- Ability
to work independently toward targeted results
- Excellent written
and verbal communication skills
- Knowledge
of public health systems would be an advantage
