The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), through the Act to End NTDs - West, support disease-endemic countries to control and/or eliminate NTDs with proven, cost-effective public health interventions. Building on the successes that have been achieved through previous USAID investments to expand national, integrated NTD programs, Act to End NTDs - West will continue to support countries in their advancement towards the attainment of global elimination goals, and to support them to effectively access and leverage the drug donations needed to control NTDs that cannot be eliminated with current strategies. Over the next five years (2018–2023), the Act to End NTDs - West will:
- Support project countries treat communities suffering from lymphatic flariasis (LF) and trachoma, ocument successes, and verify disease elimination as a public health problem via the World Health Organization (WHO) dossier process.
- Support Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, Togo, Benin, Mali, and Senegal in meeting the WHO equirements to verify the elimination of onchocerciasis transmission, including dossier development and submission.
- Support sustainable service delivery in the countries by leveraging domestic and other resources (funding, policy, existing service delivery platforms) for NTDs targeted for control schistosomiasis/SCH, soil transmitted helminthiasis/STH, and in some countries, onchocerciasis).
- Support countries in mainstreaming NTD programming into their national health systems.
- Add NTDP interventions into the platforms of related sectors— education; malaria; water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); maternal and child health (MCH); and nutrition—to extend program reach.
The FHI 360-led team will use its NTD expertise and implementation experience in Cameroon, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Senegal to help these countries eliminate and/or control NTDs using proven, cost-effective interventions.
The Act to End NTDs - West has the following intermediate (IR) and end results:
Result 1: Elimination of LF, trachoma, and where feasible, onchocerciasis in Africa. IR 1: Increased mass drug administration (MDA) coverage among at-risk populations in endemic countries.
Result 2: Sustainable national NTD programs (NTDPs). IR 2: Strengthened country environment for NTDP implementation and management.
Result 3: Robust country capacity to implement and maintain ongoing MDA and disease surveillance for STH, SCH, and in some cases, onchocerciasis. IR 3: Sustained MDA coverage among at-risk populations in endemic countries
The Act to End NTDs will help each country’s NTDP and health ministry (MOH) staff to own its NTD response, leading to sustainable NTD mainstreaming. Each country will have a tailored action plan that reflects its local context, NTDP capacity, historical data, and opportunities for coordination with nutrition, malaria, WASH, MCH, and school health interventions.
- Support countries to efficiently and effectively complete treatment requirements for all communities endemic for lymphatic filariasis (LF) and trachoma and then verify and document success for disease elimination as a public health problem via the World Health Organization (WHO) dossier process.
- Assist select countries to meet WHO requirements for verifying the elimination of transmission of Onchocerciasis, including support for dossier development and submission.
- Support MOHs/NTD Programs to develop sound annual work plans that are in line with the program priorities and WHO guidelines for the selected diseases;
- Provide technical support to NTD programs to secure that treatment plans/mass drug administration (MDA) and disease specific assessments (DSA) are planned and executed per WHO guidelines and best practices;
- Provide technical support to NTD Programs for a sound and timely execution of MDAs and DSAs.
- Assist MOHs in the execution of periodical Programs Quality Improvements (PQI) to increase project effectiveness and efficiency;
- Assist NTDs Programs to develop accurate projections for drugs need and timely submission of joint reporting forms to WHO for drugs application;
- Facilitate cross sector coordination among NTD Programs, WASH, Malaria, Vitamin A, Maternal and Child Health programs, education and other interrelated interventions to develop synergies and increase impact;
- Support the development and implementation of Schistosomiasis/ Soil-Transmitted Helminths (SCH/STH) transition plans;
- Collaborate with FHI360 in the conceptualization and implementation of policies that enable the “mainstreaming” of NTDs programs into the national health system;
- Coordinate with FI360 the needs for short term technical assistance to build technical and operational capacity of the MOH NTDs programs and assist countries in their effort to mobilize local resources;
- Participate in technical, coordination and policy meetings proposed by USAID, WHO and others as appropriate;
- Provides technical oversight to one or more programs to ensure compliance with company policies and procedures.
- Designs, monitors and evaluates activities regarding recruitment, orientation, and supervision of teams who lead these activities.
- Supports capacity building and contributes to the overall strategic goals of any assigned programs.
- Creates or revises proposals as need to facilitate strategic goals.
- Trains staff on procedures and policies to achieve departmental and organizational goals.
- Supports management with recommendations for process improvement to achieve strategic goals.
- 15 years’ experience working on international projects related to NTDs, preferably with one or more of the following: LF, trachoma, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis and/or soil-transmitted helminths;
- At least five years of senior level experience providing technical support to developing countries on NTDs;
- Demonstrated experience working in global or regional consensus building or normative guidance setting initiatives or working groups on one or more NTD;
- A least five years in management of public health programming involved in the introduction and scale up of technical interventions;
- Proven skill in working with senior‐level representatives of developing country governments, international organizations, other bilateral donor and civil society organizations, and private sector organizations;
- Demonstrated management, leadership, decision‐making, and interpersonal skills; and
- Full professional proficiency in English and French, with excellent oral and written communications
skills.
FHI 360 fosters the strength and health of its workforce through a competitive benefits package, professional development and policies and programs that support healthy work/life balance. Join our global workforce to make a positive difference for others — and yourself.