A HEALTH ADVISOR (M/F) - MYANMAR

Médecins du Monde – France (MdM France) is a French INGO working in Myanmar since 1992. In the aftermath of cyclone Nargis (May 2008), MdM France implemented an emergency medical project, which entered in January 2009 in a post – emergency phase, with the launch of a project aiming at strengthening community health systems. As of January 2011, the project’s focus has shifted explicitly to Mother and Child Health (MCH).

Project summary: Access to good quality primary health care is very limited for the population in the rural areas of Pyapon township. Scarcity of trained health human resources, lack of equipped facilities and daunting geographic constraints all concur to very limited access to the public primary health care system. Private care is available, through unofficial healers and traditional birth attendants, however it is unsupervised and usually of poor quality. In addition, the population lacks knowledge and awareness on health related issues, which would enable them to adopt safe behaviours. The socio-economic consequences of cyclone Nargis put an additional burden on the health system, which on one hand has a decreased capacity, and on the other hand is facing increased vulnerability of the population to health risks. Though Nargis was of unprecedented violence, the region is prone to frequent floods.

The project aims at strengthening community health systems in Center and South Pyapon, by: - improving access to basic primary health care (training and supervision of 131 Community Health Workers – CHW, 80 Auxiliary Midwives – AMW) - increasing community involvement in health issues (through the establishment of Village Health Committees – VHC – and the establishment of village funds) - increasing knowledge on health / preventive issues (health education in the villages, improvement of waste management in 4 health facilities)

This project is likely to be handed-over from MdM France to MdM Holland in April 2012. Negotiations are on-going between the two organisations. Depending on the outcomes of those negotiations and MdM Holland’s strategy for the future of the project, the duties description of this job description might slightly change. However, the general mission will remain the same.

TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The health advisor will ensure the quality of the project activities in terms of health: - Quality of medical care and prevention services delivered by CHWs and AMWs, - Quality of health education delivered by community actors and MdM outreach team. S/he will especially ensure the follow-up of the medical recommendations done by previous health advisers (done by Field Health Advisor in 2010 and HQ Health Advisor in July 2011). S/he will also focus on mainstreaming the MCH component in all the activities carried out by MdM France in Pyapon.

More specifically:

1. Technical supervision

   • S/he ensures the compliance of all activities to MdM France quality standards and guidelines, and to national and international guidelines, in close link with the field coordinator, the HQ Health Advisor and with the S2AP (technical support service) in Paris HQ.
   • S/he reviews the training curriculums and methodologies of CHWs and AMWs, of field staff (field nurses, field midwives and community facilitators), and suggests improvements.
   • S/he reviews the supervision methodologies and tools of the field staff (field nurses, field midwives and community facilitators), and suggests improvements.
   • S/he reviews the relevance of health education messages and methodologies and proposes improvements.
   • As the project develops, s/he supports the team to develop additional training curriculum (review of national guidelines, of international guidelines, and adaptation to the context), notably for auxiliary midwives (AMW).
   • S/he is in charge of checking the quality of care and prevention services delivered by the CHWs and AMWs, and propose improvements, additional trainings if required.
   • S/he supervises very closely the quality of the work performed by the health training officer, and helps identify training opportunities for him.

2. Planning and coordination

   • S/he takes part in the planning of the project, especially for the training component (of staff, of CHWs and AMWs).
   • S/he takes part in the management team meetings in Phyarpon.
   • S/he liaises closely with the monitoring officer and the project managers (field coordinator and project manager) to make sure that the monitoring system (data collection, ad hoc surveys) allows monitoring quality of health prevention and care services delivered. This monitoring should include proper analysis the data’s collected in close collaboration with the project team, ensuring a feed back to the outreach team and beneficiaries
   • S/he might attend technical coordination meetings, in the delta or in Yangon.
   • S/he contributes to strengthening relationship and collaboration with MoH.

3. Surveys

   • S/he conducts a detailed assessment of the main hospitals and Rural Health Centers in the Township to review the capacity of those facilities to provide EmOC services and the possibility given by national policies and protocols to implement EmOC services in the area.
   • If requested, s/he conducts a survey on referral at the health facility level.

Location: based in Pyapon with regular field visists

Education/ Work experience:

• Medical background is compulsory: midwife (desired), public health or doctor or nurse, with experience in primary health care in low resources settings / community health care / mother and child health.
• Experience in health promotion / health education in rural communities would be an asset.
• Ability to deliver in a short time

Language required: Fluent English (oral and written) mandatory

Qualities required: - Ability to live mostly on his/her own in a medium difficult environment (3.5 hours by road from Yangon, small town with no other international presence and no or very little leisure activities, long boat trips for supervision of activities).

CONTRACT: 4 months months Starting: ASAP

Type of contract: VOLUNTEER (French law) - Monthly allowance: 800 euros / months (+ perdiem)

To apply, please send your CV and cover letter via our website:

http://www.medecinsdumonde.org/postes/vacancies/puestos-abiertos/Interna...

MdM reserves the right to close any vacancy before the end of the advertised deadline. Thank you for your understanding.