Malaria is one of the leading causes of illness, death, and
lost economic productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. While the scale-up of malaria
control efforts has in many places resulted in significant reductions of
malaria morbidity and mortality rates, malaria still claimed an estimated
660,000 lives in 2010. The majority of these deaths were among children
under-five and pregnant women. Continuing to reduce the burden of disease will
require further increases in access to critical prevention tools, such as
insecticide-treated nets, and increasing access to and uptake of high-quality
diagnostic tests and treatments. In most sub-Saharan African countries, less
than 20% of people with suspected malaria
receive a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis and less than 50% of those receiving an antimalarial for
uncomplicated malaria use a recommended artemisinin-based combination therapy
(ACT).
To achieve the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership’s goal of near zero-deaths from malaria by 2015, the
key barriers that restrict access to recommended diagnostics and treatments for
malaria must be overcome. Not only will this dramatically reduce the number of
malaria-related deaths in the immediate future, it will also move countries
towards elimination of the disease in the long run. The Clinton Health Access
Initiative (CHAI) work will focus on activities that achieve the greatest
possible impact in terms of reducing malaria mortality and attaining value for
money. There is growing consensus that for greater health impact,
cost-effective management of malaria, and accurate understanding of true burden
– which enables better planning and resource allocation – public health
interventions should focus on improving fever case management, including access
to both malaria diagnosis and treatment.
To date, CHAI’s work in malaria case management has focused
on increasing access to and use of the most effective, quality assured malaria
drugs – artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). Since the beginning of
2009, CHAI provided technical assistance to countries participating in the
Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria (AMFm), a manufacturer-level subsidy
designed to dramatically increase access to ACTs across all sectors where
patients seek treatment. During the two-year pilot, prices of ACTs decreased
and access increased substantially. In addition to making the most effective
treatment for malaria accessible and affordable, CHAI is also working with
Ministries of Health across a number of countries to rapidly scale up malaria
rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) to improve health outcomes and achieve greater
value-for-money on RDT and ACT investments. CHAI’s efforts include piloting
innovative methods to increase access to confirmatory malaria diagnosis to
ensure that every person treated for malaria receives a confirmatory diagnosis.
These activities include negotiating low prices for RDTs at the global
manufacturer level, assessing the feasibility of expanding access to RDTs
across all sectors, and testing training and mentorship models to increase use
of and adherence to RDTs results. CHAI aims to use this portfolio to influence
policy to make diagnostic tools widely available and accepted. Looking forward,
CHAI will continue to prioritize high-impact interventions by supporting
countries to develop and implement malaria treatment and diagnosis strategies,
create robust forecasts for ACTs and RDTs, and gather market intelligence in an
effort to build a healthy, sustainable market for ACTs and RDTs.
Responsibilities:
The Malaria Case Management Analyst will be responsible for
supporting CHAI’s efforts to increase access to and uptake of ACTs and RDTs. In
addition, the Analyst will support CHAI’s malaria diagnosis operational
research projects in Cameroon, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania to rapidly scaling up
RDTs in Uganda and Cameroon’s public sectors to improve health outcomes and
achieve greater value-for-money on RDT and ACT investments, and in Kenya and
Tanzania to help spark the uptake of RDTs in the private sector through both
supply and demand side interventions. The Analyst must be able to function
independently in a fast-paced environment, demonstrate critical thinking amidst
ambiguity, and have a strong commitment to excellence. The position will
be based in Kampala, Uganda, with limited travel to regional focal countries.
Main Tasks and Responsibilities:
- In
CHAI malaria diagnosis focal countries where operational research is being
carried out, provide remote and in-country support to CHAI’s country
offices to establish a critical evidence base of best practices for
introducing and scaling up RDTs:
- Gather
information on related diagnosis and fever management issues from primary
and secondary sources, including writing short literature reviews and
liaising with global technical experts as needed.
- Support
the development, implementation and dissemination of projects to test new
approaches to improving uptake and adherence to RDTs, including assisting
with writing concept notes, protocols, survey tools, and with overall
survey implementation and interventions (e.g. training, mentorship).
- Help
assist with planning and executing demand generation campaigns that aim
to modify treatment seeking behavior for fever illness.
- Contribute
toward information gathering and documentation of programmatic best
practices and lessons learned for scale up of malaria diagnosis for
national and global audiences.
- In
CHAI focal countries, support teams to increase access to and appropriate
use of malaria diagnosis tools and treatment:
- Provide
countries with general management support and carry out critical analyses
for malaria case management strategic planning processes.
- Support
countries to apply for funding to implement their case management
strategies.
Qualifications:
Qualities Required:
- Bachelor’s/tertiary
degree and at least 1 year of professional experience after university
graduation;
- Exceptional
problem solving skills;
- Excellent
qualitative analytical capabilities ;
- Strong
quantitative capabilities;
- Strong
written and oral communication skills, in particular the ability to work
independently in unstructured settings, and communicate effectively within
a remote, decentralized team;
- Strong
organizational skills;
- Ability
to multi-task and to be effective in high-pressure situations;
- Ability
to absorb and synthesize a broad range of information; and,
- High
level of proficiency in relevant computer applications, particularly
Excel, PowerPoint and Word.
Advantages:
- Experience
in public health; social science / epidemiological field research a plus;
- Experience
living and working in Africa and/or developing countries; and,
- Experience
or training in research: developing survey tools, managing data
collection, overseeing contractors, leading analysis.
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