Job Location Uganda Type Full-Time Paid
Business Unit In-Country Operations
More information about this job:
Overview:
About the Clinton Health Access Initiative:
The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to strengthening integrated health systems in the developing world and expanding access to care and treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. CHAI’s solution-oriented approach focuses on improving market dynamics for medicines and diagnostics; lowering prices for treatment; accelerating access to life-saving technologies; and helping governments build the capacity required for high-quality care and treatment programs.
Since its establishment in 2002 by President William J. Clinton, CHAI has worked on the demand and supply sides of the market to help more than 2 million HIV+ people access the medicines needed for treatment—representing nearly half of all people and 2 out of 3 children on HIV/AIDS treatment in developing countries. Building on this model, CHAI has expanded its scope to include efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery systems and to combat malaria and childhood illnesses.
In 2007, CHAI signed an MOU with the government of Uganda to provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and strengthen health systems. Since then, CHAI has worked hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Health to increase access to lifesaving pediatric HIV treatment by >400%; coordinate with private sector suppliers to lower costs and expand access to malaria drugs; pilot a point-of-care diagnostic technology, leading to scale up to >250 health facilities nationwide; introduce a new severe malaria drug which will save thousands of lives annually; and many other initiatives. Currently, CHAI Uganda works with the Ministry of Health around HIV, malaria, childhood illnesses, laboratory systems and drug logistics.
Background:
The majority of fevers in Uganda are misdiagnosed and treated as malaria. Globally, over 60% of clinically diagnosed malaria is not actually malaria. Fevers are often caused by treatable yet potentially lethal diseases that, with the continued misdiagnosis of malaria, remain untreated. International guidelines, national policy, and treatment interventions have all assisted in institutionalizing this practice. In addition, presumptive treatment of malaria leads to inappropriate use of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), an expensive antimalarial drug, resulting in millions of dollars of wasted resources.
CHAI is supporting the Uganda Ministry of Health to rapidly scale-up malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) in the public and private sectors to improve health outcomes and achieve greater value-for-money with the country’s limited health budget. This work follows on CHAI’s extensive efforts to drive uptake of effective malaria treatment in Uganda. CHAI seeks to support the Uganda Ministry of Health to reach its goal of achieving diagnostic coverage for 85% of all suspected malaria cases by 2014. CHAI will provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and work with in-country partners to i) strengthen the nascent public and private RDT markets by providing the building blocks for the introduction of the new technology (e.g., forecasting, product selection, training, behavior change strategies, monitoring and evaluation), ii) develop scalable solutions for national implementation and adoption, and iii) design critical and timely impact evaluations of RDT adoption/adherence to inform national strategy, advise international stakeholders, and catalyze the implementation of effective interventions.
With tens of millions of RDTs in the public sector pipeline and burgeoning interest in malaria diagnosis amongst private sector providers, Uganda is positioned to offer widespread access to diagnosis for the first time in its history. CHAI will work with the Ministry of Health to ensure the successful introduction and national scale up of this crucial diagnostic.
Position Description:
The Malaria Diagnostics Coordinator will work with the Malaria Program Manager to support the Ministry of Health and the private sector to enhance access to malaria diagnostics and medicines, with an emphasis on the private sector. It is estimated that ~60% of care and treatment in Uganda is sought in the private sector, yet a number of barriers can impede access to appropriate drugs and diagnostics, including high prices, limited product availability, and low provider/retailer awareness of treatment guidelines.
The Coordinator will also support CHAI’s private sector engagement across other disease and product areas, working closely with the Essential Child Medicines team to scale up access to appropriate treatment for diarrhea and with the Access to Medicines team to expand access to appropriate treatment for severe malaria in the private sector.
The Coordinator must be a strategic thinker with exceptional quantitative skills. The Coordinator will be responsible for a wide variety of tasks, from quantitative analysis and policy development support to stakeholder engagement and capacity building. The Coordinator may also spend time (~20%) in the field, collecting data at low-level health facilities and private sector outlets.
Responsibilities:
Provide technical assistance to MOH and private sector stakeholders on the introduction of RDTs, including forecasting, procurement and stock management in the public and private sectors
Analyze and map the private sector value chain to identify key decision makers and areas of inefficiency
Conduct market analyses and develop business cases to demonstrate to suppliers the market potential
Enhancement of private suppliers’ promotion efforts, including detailing and CMEs
Exploration of distribution opportunities beyond traditional pharmaceutical channels
Work with the Global Malaria Diagnostics Team to ensure CHAI’s resources and expertise are fully leveraged to meet needs in-country
Other responsibilities, as needed
Qualifications:
At least two years of work experience in a demanding, results-oriented environment
Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop strong relationships in a challenging environment
Highly motivated individual who exhibits a passion for results and a commitment to excellence
Strong communications skills, both written and oral
Excellent problem solving, analytical, and quantitative skills, including fluency in Excel and PowerPoint
Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously, set priorities, and work independently
Ability to learn on the job quickly and absorb/synthesize a broad range of information
Ability to work within limited budgets and human resources
Strong work ethic and flexibility
CHAI places great value on the following qualities: flexibility, resourcefulness, responsibility, persistence, independence, energy and work ethic
Advantages:
Advanced degree in business, medicine, public health, or a related field
Experience working in management consulting, finance or a similarly quantitative/analytical capacity
Experience working in public health, especially diagnostics or malaria
Experience in private sector supply and distribution, ideally in the pharmaceutical or Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) fields
How to apply
https://careers-chai.icims.com/jobs/3078/job
Deadline: 25 /06 /2013
