Background:
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with a network of 192-member National Societies. The overall aim of the IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.” The IFRC works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises.
The IFRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement), together with its member National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The work of the IFRC is guided by the following fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.
The IFRC has five regional offices in Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The IFRC also has country cluster delegations and country delegations throughout the world. Together, the Geneva Headquarters and the field structure (regional, cluster and country delegations) comprise the IFRC Secretariat.
At Geneva level the Health and Care Department consists of four teams: Emergency Health, Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), WASH and Community Health. This consultancy will support the work of the Community Health Team.
The Community Health Team supports a large global malaria partnership, the Alliance for Malaria Prevention (AMP), which is focused on three main activities: (1) coordination of partners involved in insecticide-treated net (ITN) campaign and continuous distribution activities; (2) development of operational guidance for planning and implementation of ITN distribution; and (3) supporting national malaria programmes to identify, address and document operational successes and challenges to meeting the WHO Global Technical Strategy (GTS) targets for high coverage and use of ITNs. AMP is a workstream within the RBM Partnership to End Malaria and is a partnership of more than 40 organizations, including government, private sector, faith-based and humanitarian organizations. Harnessing the global leadership and management systems of IFRC, AMP is uniquely positioned to support and advance country-level efforts to promote high-quality, high-impact, efficient distribution of ITNs to increase population access to nets in malaria endemic countries through both campaign and continuous distribution channels.
Over the last twenty years, a significant reduction in global malaria case incidence and mortality rates has been observed globally. The malaria case incidence rate fell from 80 in 2000 to 57 in 2019, while total malaria cases declined from 238 million in 2000 to 229 million in 2019. The mortality incidence rate was reduced from 25 in 2000 to 10 in 2019, while the total number of deaths fell from 736 000 in 2000 to 409 000 in 2019[1]. Despite these achievements, of the estimated 1.5 billion malaria cases and 7.6 million malaria deaths averted globally since 2000, most cases (82%) and deaths (94%) averted were in the African Region, followed by the South-East Asia Region (10% and 3%). In 2017, WHO’s annual World Malaria Report warned that the global response had reached a “crossroads” and that progress towards critical GTS targets for reductions in disease and death was off track. For a second consecutive year in 2018, the World Malaria Report indicated a stall in progress. Of particular concern was the report’s finding that, among the 10 highest burden African countries, there were 3.5 million more cases in 2017 over the previous year.
Malaria continues to take a heavy toll on pregnant women and children, particularly in Africa. Left untreated, malaria in pregnancy can lead to maternal death, anemia and low birth weight – a major cause of infant mortality. In 2019, an estimated 11.6 million pregnant women living in 33 African countries with moderate-to-high transmission were infected with malaria (35% of all pregnancies). As a result, an estimated 822 000 children in these 33 countries were born with a low birth weight.
Coverage gaps are an important contributor to non-achievement of the WHO Global Technical Strategy targets, particularly in hard-to-reach, conflict-affected and marginalized communities. While expanded access to WHO-recommended malaria control interventions has played a critical role in reducing the global burden of the disease since 2000, a large proportion of the population at risk of malaria – particularly in the WHO African region – continues to lack access to prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
In 2020, AMP was awarded a grant by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to identify ways to improve operational efficiency of ITN campaigns and develop associated operational guidance for national malaria programmes and partners. The activities in the grant are organized into seven workstreams, representing some of the most critical inefficiencies and challenges national malaria programmes and partners face with ITN campaigns and continuous distribution. AMP is collecting information about national malaria programme experiences, lessons learned and best practices in the adaptation of ITN mass campaigns to the COVID-19 context, payment systems used for campaign staff, strategies for urban distribution, social and behaviour change (SBC) innovations, multi-product ITN distribution and campaign digitization. Additionally, AMP is collecting information about continuous ITN distribution plans across channels. Information collected for the project will be used both for operational guidance and for advocacy for resource mobilization, specifically for continuous distribution to ensure sustained ITN access.
Overall objective:
The overall objective of this consultancy is to support the AMP partnership with the development and finalization of deliverables outlined in the BMGF-funded Catalytic Investment to Improve Operational Efficiency of ITN Campaigns (the ITN Campaign Efficiency Project). The consultancy will support activities across the different workstreams for the third year of the project.
Specific objectives:
The consultancy will support specific activities related to each of the workstreams of the ITN Campaign Efficiency Project including:
Workstream 1: Estimated LOE – 10 days
- Support planning for the training of technical assistance (TA) providers, national malaria programme and implementing partner staff, with a specific focus on SBC
- Support development and finalization of online training curricula with a specific focus on SBC and sustaining ITN use through cost-effective strategies
Deliverables:
- Final agenda, materials and supporting documents for virtual training of TA providers and selected technical staff from national malaria programmes and implementing partners
- Final online training curricula for SBC
Workstreams 2 and 3: Estimated LOE – 5 days
- Support national malaria programmes and partners with planning and implementation of different SBC assessments on the basis of requests
Deliverables:
- Support provided to national malaria programmes making requests
Workstream 4:Estimated LOE – 5 days
- Support the review and finalization of the digitalization handbook being led by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and incorporating work achieved under this project
Deliverables:
- Final digitalization handbook available including SBC considerations
Workstream 5:Estimated LOE – 10 days
- Document achievements, challenges and lessons learnt from multi-product campaigns in non-New Nets Project (NNP) countries that can guide national malaria programmes and their partners in implementation of future multi-product campaigns
- Identify best practices as part of guidance for the implementation of multi-product, integrated or other health campaigns in complex operating environments (COE) and urban settings through review of strategies and reports and key informant interviews (KII) for further information gathering and develop two country case studies
Deliverables:
- Two to three case studies showing the achievements, challenges and lessons learnt in multi-product ITN mass distribution campaigns with a particular focus on COE countries
Workstream 6:Estimated LOE – 25 days
- Identification of 2 – 3 priority countries to review SBC funding available for ITN campaigns over the past two campaign cycles; undertake analysis of major gaps, including for net care and repair to extend ITN lifespan; disseminate findings prior to Global Fund application round
- Identify cost-effective options for SBC for increasing ITN use, care and repair through working with national malaria program SBC focal points, deployment of an online questionnaire and organization of SBC working sessions and webinars to showcase successes and challenges with different strategies .
- Review and document the process of the decision-making undertaken by Mozambique on the exclusion of the provincial capitals for ITN mass campaign and what plans/strategies are in place to protect the populace in the provincial capitals (combined with the quantification in WS1)
- Support and backstop local consultants hired in selected countries to observe and document urban ITN distribution in two to three campaigns; review country plans and provide support for multi-product ITN distribution on basis of country requests
- Support the efficiency analysis of urban mass campaign distribution
- Document achievements, challenges, lessons learnt and best practices that will guide national malaria programmes to improve efficiency and effectiveness of ITN mass distribution in a COE or urban setting
- Identify any gender barriers in accessing or using new ITNs or ITN types through including of gender analysis at the planning stage and through incorporating elements related to gender in supervision and monitoring tools
- Backstop AMP technical support to countries for SBC activities to ensure that TA support is appropriate, efficient and effective and reflects operational learning and recommendations from the ITN Campaign Efficiency project
- Develop updated guidance on “sustainable SBC”, pulling together the experiences, lessons learned, successes and challenges from different countries and incorporating cost-effective and efficient options that could be considered based on a context analysis
- Support the work of the AMP on waste management and end-of-life nets by contributing to meeting and providing input on SBC related aspects in guidance documents developed by the partnership.
Deliverables:
- Document that analyses funding for SBC activities and details 1) cost-effective options for SBC identified in collaboration with national malaria programmes and partners and 2) recommendations for the funding of SBC activities in future campaigns
- Case study documenting COE and urban strategies for ITN distributions, including achievements, successes and challenges, for national malaria programmes planning ITN distributions in urban settings
- Generic gender analysis tool available for national malaria programmes planning ITN mass campaigns
- AMP TA for SBC is implemented at high quality, with work product that can be used successfully by the supported country
- Considerations for sustainable SBC document finalized
Across the six workstreams, the deliverables developed will:
- Contribute to knowledge sharing (for examples, tools and templates developed for process evaluations and case studies) and effective coordination with national malaria programmes and partners
- Account for cross cutting issues affecting ITN access and use, including:
- Effectiveness
- Efficiency
- Gender
- Sustainability
- Contextual relevance
Language requirements
Strong command of English and French required for this role.
[1]https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/malaria/world-malaria-reports/world-malaria-report-2020-briefing-kit-eng.pdf?sfvrsn=eda98467_18&download=true)
How to apply
To apply to this position, please submit your CV and cover letter that specifies your daily rate to health.department@ifrc.org by Tuesday 29th of November COB. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.