SCH/STH and taeniasis technical support to Namibia NTDs Programmes (SSA)

Contract

This is a No grade contract. More about No grade contracts.

1. Background:

• The SSA will be supervised by the responsible WHO Country Officer and the NTDs program of the MoHSS to whom the SSA will regularly provide feedback on the progress of planned activities for the consultancy periodThe SSA is expected to provide monthly update reports and end of mission report to WHO and the ministry of health and social services.
• Accountability of the SSA personnel
• National NTDs Master Plan 2021-2025 in line with WHO NTD Road map 2021-2030
• Taeniasis and cysticercosis mapping Protocol & submitted for ministerial ethical clearance
• Mapping survey report for co-endemicity of SCH and cysticercosis
• Schistosomiasis sub-district data analysis and validation (shrinking the map) report
• Report of national NTDs advocacy, consultative and “One Health Approach” planning workshop
• National guideline for quality Preventive Chemotherapy (MDA)
• Deliverables
• Five months – 1st May 2022 – 30 September 2022
• Duration of Assignment
• Languages
• Excellent knowledge of English
• Working experience with the UN or other agencies’ experience would be an asset.
• Desirable:
• Experience in any communicable diseases prevention, management and control
• Experience on disease surveillance, field epidemiology, outbreak investigation or preventive chemotherapy of NTDs would be an asset

• Education

  Essential: At least a Master’s degree in public health, epidemiology, Environmental Health or other medical or health field

  Desirable: Postgraduate training in Public Health, Epidemiology, communicable disease control or other health field; knowledge of NTDs and other tropical diseases epidemiology, control and elimination

  Experience

  Essential:

• A minimum of 5 years’ experience working in clinical, public health or programme management fields;
• Skills and competencies
• Ability to demonstrate effective interpersonal communication skills by working harmoniously as a member of a team, adapting to diverse educational, socio-political and cultural backgrounds and maintaining a high standard of personal conduct.
• Excellent analytical and writing skills and capacity to work strategically and under tight deadlines on a results-oriented basis.
• Computer skills - Knowledge of Word processing, spreadsheet and data analysis software
• Skills in analysis of NTD Programme situation and planning of technical interventions for control and elimination of NTDs
• Skills and Qualifications
• 1. Develop taeniasis and cysticercosis mapping Protocol & prepare for ministerial ethical clearance
  2. Conduct mapping survey for co-endemicity of SCH and cysticercosis
  3. Conduct schistosomiasis sub-district data analysis and validation (shrinking the map)
  4. Develop a National guideline for quality Preventive Chemotherapy (MDA)
  5. Follow-up the recommendations of the 2019 MDA adverse events investigation report
• Conduct a National NTDs advocacy, consultative and “One Health Approach” national planning workshop
• Finalize and launch the national NTDs Master Plan 2021-2025 in line with WHO NTDs Road map 2021-2030
• Strengthen NTDs surveillance and monitoring including reviewing of HIS data collection tools to incorporate all NTDs in Namibia
• Conduct capacity building of program managers and health workers on the prevention, case management and surveillance of NTDs
• Develop IEC materials and mass media massages on NTDs and safe MDA campaigns
• Conduct MDA safety workshop
• Conduct cross-border surveillance GWD activities including cross border meetings and orient/sensitize surveillance officers, health workers and CHWs on GWD
• Coordinate and conduct the Trachoma prevalence survey including finalization and ethical approval of the survey protocol
• Support any other outstanding issues on the NTD Programme in country including status of the JAP and routine reporting on data from the NTD programme, conduct desk review on NTDs in Namibia, support vector control activities and provide any other needed technical support and capacity building activities pertaining the NTD programme.
• Support other priority activities and duties as delegated by the supervisor or the WHO representative

• Under the supervision of the WR and working closely the with the SCH/STH Focal point at MoHSS, WCO NTD Focal Point and other country NTD Programme staff and MoHSS staff as may be necessary, the SSA will primarily provide support towards SCH/STH goals in the country in line with WHO NTD Road Map 2030, and addressing the urgent need to delineate SCH and Taeniasis co-endemicity to allow for resumption of SCH MDA.

  Technical support consultancies in countries are meant to ensure quality, effective and adequate coverage of interventions to targeted groups when supporting Mass Drug Administration, quality data collection for MDA reporting, surveys, mapping and remapping, capacity building of NTD programme staff for sustainability and effective social mobilisation and advocacy for NTDs.

  Specifically, the SSA’s TOR will include but not limited to:

• Support the government in SCH/STH and taeniasis related activities, namely;
• The Ministry of Health and Social Services in Namibia (MoHSS) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) assures the safety of preventive chemotherapy for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). The government’s strategy to tackle bilharzia and intestinal worms, in line with the WHO global strategy, is to control morbidity through the periodic treatment of at-risk populations living in endemic areas.
• Terms of Reference:
• Following the SAEs of 2019, MDA for schistosomiasis has not resumed in Namibia, largely due to inadequate capacity for NTDs within the MoH to implement the recommendations of the 2019 investigation (see attached report). Further, the COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2020 impacted planned technical support to the country. Experience has shown that serious adverse events (SAE) can severely erode public confidence and can contribute to a resurgence of preventable diseases, especially with reports in national newspapers and social media platforms, mainly Facebook and WhatsApp. Hence the need for implementing the recommendations to allow for appropriate follow up response to the serious adverse events, map taeniasis endemicity and plan future treatment for both taeniasis and schistosomiasis
• Purpose of the Consultancy

• Namibia is among the countries in the Africa region endemic for Schistosomiasis and STH with 18 of the 34 districts requiring Mass drug administration, targeting about 1,097,233 people, according the baseline mapping conducted in 2015.

  The first nation-wide Mass Drug Administration (MDA) campaign was conducted from 20 May to 4 June 2019, among school age children in six regions, namely Zambezi, Kavango East and West, Ohangwena, Omusati and Otjozondjupa. A total of 158,614 children were dewormed out of 251,908 school children in the six regions with a deworming campaign coverage of 64%. Considering the total eligible school age children in the nine endemic regions of 343,457, the overall MDA program coverage would be 46%.

  However, MDA has since been halted pending implementation of recommendations arising from the investigations on three cases of Serious Adverse Events (SAE) reported from Ohangwena region during the campaign. The cases were investigated thoroughly by a team from the MoHSS and WHO. They include two girls, aged nine (Engela district) and ten years (Omulonga Constituency), and a 17-year-old boy from Okongo district. All of them developed serious symptoms the same day the deworming medicines (Praziquantel and Albendazole) were administered and all were hospitalized. The girls presented with sudden loss of consciousness while the boy manifested generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Brain CT scan showed diffuse neurocysticercosis in the two girls while the imaging was normal in the 17-year-old boy.

  The nine-year-old girl and the boy fully recovered while the 10-year-old girl died after a week of hospitalization. The autopsy confirmed that the deceased had neurocysticercosis and cerebral oedema probably related with adverse reactions due to the destruction of parasites killed by the medicines, i.e., the consequence of the death of the parasites upon the action of the medicines. The level of certainty may be categorized as Certain, Probable or Possible. In this regard, the investigation team assessed the level of certainty as PROBABLE. The investigation team did not receive adverse events report forms from the other 14 districts.

  Common mild adverse events were reported, including abdominal pain, headache and vomiting which were transient symptoms consistent with mild adverse reactions to the medicines.

• Urgency for technical support