TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR ECOWAS VOLUNTEERS

Transcription

1 TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR ECOWAS VOLUNTEERS I. Information on EVP Assignment EVP Assignment Title: Midwives (Senior) Project Title: UNFPA Mano River Midwifery Response Project Midwives POSITIONS Duration of Assignment: 6 months (renewable based on availability of funding and satisfactory performance) Location, Country: Sierra Leone II. Preamble 10 volunteers NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS Expected Starting Date: Immediately Type of Contract: ECOWAS Volunteers In line with its vision 2020, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is implementing a Volunteers Programme to cut across all areas/sectors of activities of the ECOWAS Commission and its sister Institutions. The ECOWAS Volunteers Programme (EVP) was inspired by the social value that voluntary action represents. This social value has existed for a very long time in African societies and especially in ECOWAS Member States. The traditional volunteer service is a current, everyday practice, demonstrated for instance in running to the assistance of aged persons or communal work in maintaining the environment, or jointly mobilizing to save or provide aid to victims of disasters, or indeed the giving out of grants to indigent members of our communities. The EVP promotes this social value in support and pursuit of development, peace and regional integration. It contributes to the development of the sub region by providing technical assistance through volunteers, tinted by the dynamism and innovation particular to youth, to support the efforts of Member States in their priority areas for development. capacity to adapt to different social, cultural and political circumstances. They are deployed in selected communitybased associations, national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and specialized agencies that are active in socio-economic, cultural, political, and humanitarian work. The volunteers help consolidate peace, recovery, national reconciliation and rehabilitation in crisis-affected communities. It is expected of the members of the volunteer corps to strengthen the capacities of local organizations by assisting them in the development and implementation of projects and programmes. Member States. It helps to address the structural causes of vulnerability, instability or outbreaks of violence in the region. The ECOWAS Commission, through the ECOWAS Volunteers Programme (EVP) is to facilitate the involvement and participation of its young citizens in peace and development through volunteering initiatives. The Programme is currently present in three countries for the pilot phase, namely Sierra Leone and Guinea. III. Brief Project Description The overarching purpose of the Mano River Midwifery Response is to increase access to essential normal and emergency obstetric and neonatal service delivery and care for women and new-borns in the Mano River area (Guinea and Sierra Leone). In addition, this response contributes to reinforcing the health systems in the perspective of the post-ebola epidemic. This response puts in place essential human resources, equipment, drugs and supplies, builds the capacity of

2 national health professionals and raises community awareness. In each country a quick assessment will be done to determine population distribution, the available health professionals and equipment, and the international support already in place, in order to respond to the most critical needs and to complement efforts already conducted. UNFPA is setting-up RMNH services to pregnant women and new-borns, establishing a network of midwives in the affected areas, able to address the urgent needs of childbearing women and new-borns. Community outreach through community health workers to restore trust in the RMNH services and to reach childbearing women through mobileclinics is part of the response. The Services include family planning, antenatal, childbirth, post-partum/natal care, including basic emergency obstetric and neonatal care, sexual reproductive health matters and services. The midwives will serve in teams across the three affected countries. These Basic Emergency Obstetric Care (BEmONC) Centres will be connected with Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care (CEmONC) Centres linked with a referral system. In response to the emergency situation created by the Ebola epidemic, the EVP has created a new corps of volunteers, the humanitarian Emergency Response Team. These volunteers will be recruited and deployed for the first time under the UNFPA Mano River Project. The ECOWAS Volunteers will contribute to regional integration, peace and development by providing technical assistance through volunteers, tinted by the dynamism and innovation particular to youth, to support this global effort. Background: The current outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa is the largest and most complex outbreak of Ebola to date, with more cases and deaths than in all-previous outbreaks combined. Mistrust and general panic are posing barriers to essential health care in the affected countries, with pregnant women being too scared to visit health s and facilities no longer being able to perform routine and emergency maternal and new-born health services. The crisis has diverted critical resources away from pregnant women and new-borns. It is estimated that more than 800,000 women in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia will be pregnant in the next 12 months. Moreover, more than 1.3 million women in these countries will need family planning services in If no intervention takes place, it is expected that the number of pregnant women and new-borns dying from preventable causes will significantly increase. IV. Host Agency/Host Institute: UNFPA Country Office V. Organisational Context The Country Coordination Office represents EVP in the beneficiary countries. The EVP Country Coordination office is responsible for the management of operations at country level, and works with country partners to define the objectives of specific program in the country in accordance with Program guidelines. It provides all programme and administrative support to ECOWAS Volunteers deployed to the country. While remaining under the administrative authority of EVP, ECOWAS Volunteers shall be under the overall direction and substantive supervision of the UNFPA Country Office. In each country a logistic cell will be established to provide logistic and management/ programme services to the temporary centres. Furthermore, Furthermore, at country level the VI. Description of Assignment Under the direct supervision of the UNFPA Representative of the applicable Country Office and the project coordinator in the country of assignment and in close collaboration with the programme associate, the senior midwife will assume the following responsibilities:. Administrative and Professional Responsibilities He/she will support the project coordinator in the supervision of midwifery staff and support staff in the planning of care and implementation of the midwifery case management. She/he will support the overall management of the performance of the midwives in the team. Plans unit workflow, determines priorities, assigns responsibilities, oversees and reviews clinical practice; prepare staff

3 work schedule, reporting and record keeping; Provides regular feedback to the staff on their clinical performance, identifies staff development needs and presents the information to appropriate personnel for onward planning of professional advancement in best practice; Mentors the more junior midwives in their daily work; Promote professional ethics and conduct. Maintains and promotes standards of midwifery care in collaboration with partners including nurses and midwives associations; Ensure an effective monitoring and supervision of the midwifery/clinical case management of patients/clients admitted to the hospital or facility; Provides oversight for the requisition, safe storage and administration of drugs and supplies including the maintenance of equipment and all relevant inventories; Assists the procurement process including identifying items necessary to provide the required care; Assists, supports and encourages implementation of clinical and administrative policies and procedures; Assists and supports the implementation of functional referral mechanisms; Completes all required documentation and reporting on expected project results and outputs. Facilitates team meetings including case reviews, and creates a forum for learning; Engaging in professional development to meet PREP (post-registration education and practice) requirements; Ensures the facility remains functional in administrative and clinical operations; Liaises with agencies and other health and social care professionals to ensure continuity of care; Identifies and shares best practices in their area of work with the UNFPA country team. Clinical midwifery and gender sensitive reproductive health service delivery and care The midwife ensures that gender considerations are part of the core professional midwifery practice on the unit and guides the team towards institutionalizing the following: Early recognition of pregnant women presenting to midwives-led centres with symptoms that could suggest Ebola leading to immediate isolation and testing, before referral if positive case Prompt the rapid institution of infection control measures (e.g., use of personal protective equipment (PPE), isolation, decontamination) to prevent potential transmission to staff, patients and visitors. Diagnosing, supporting and examining women during pregnancy; developing, assessing and evaluating individual midwifery services of care for vulnerable groups; Providing childbirth and neonatal services including basic emergency obstetric and new-born care (EmONC) services; Providing full gender sensitive, integrated antenatal care, in facility, community and at home, including counselling and advice; Identifying high risk pregnancies and, where possible, making timely referrals to more appropriate facilities; Providing post-abortion services, including Family Planning (FP); Arranging and providing parenting and health education for the woman, her partner and family members; encouraging participation of family members in the birth to support the mother and enhance both mother/ baby bonding and family relationships generally; Offering support and advice following events such as miscarriage, termination, stillbirth, neonatal abnormality and neonatal death; Supporting and assisting mothers in labour, monitoring the condition of the foetus and using knowledge of drugs and pain management; Giving support and advice on the daily care of the baby, including exclusive breastfeeding, cord care, hygiene and Kangaroo mother care for preterm and for less than 2000g babies; Providing advice and guidance on a safe and timely transfer home; Provides advice and counselling on birth spacing (Family planning) methodologies and options to the client and her family. Liaising with agencies and other health and social care professionals to ensure continuity of care; Where possible, consults with and makes recommendations to the referred to facility concerning health needs of the

4 clients; Supports Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission (EMTCT) of HIV services including providing HIV counselling and testing services; Supporting and providing comprehensive reproductive health services particularly for youth and other vulnerable groups including internally displaced persons, refugees and returnees; Providing integrated antenatal care services, including EMTCT for HIV, STI and Malaria prevention and treatment, nutrition and immunization; Play a central role in establishing partnerships and cooperating with and eventually supervising traditional birth attendants, other health care workers and community midwives. Cooperating with and eventually supervising community outreach workers who mobilize the community to seek services in the BEmONC centres; Providing support for victims of gender based violence (GBV) and clinical management of rape. Assist with supportive supervision and on-site training of midwives, midwifery students and other health workers; Supervise community outreach workers who mobilize the community to seek services in the BEmONC centers; Contribute to the regular reporting on activities and outcomes in his/her deployment area; Take part in the review of maternal deaths and near-miss cases; Develop and monitor progress indicators for Safe Motherhood in the hospital (facility) and completes all required documentation and reporting on expected project results and outputs and submit report Further ECOWAS volunteers are expected to: Strengthen the capacities of local organisations in order to assist them in the development and implementation of projects and programmes involving volunteers. Promote a culture of peace and regional integration Promote gender equality Establish and supporting partnerships between communities Network and collaborating with other development partners Provide expertise/services to the host communities Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant EVP and external publications and take active part in EVP activities (for instance in events that mark IVD). VII. Results/Expected output: By the end of the project period, ECOWAS Volunteer midwives are expected to have contributed to the following results: Women provided with comprehensive antenatal services; Women and newborns provided with quality and respectful midwifery care at childbirth and in the post-partum/natal period; Women and newborns with complications are referred in a timely manner to the appropriate level of care, to the extent possible; Women with Ebola symptoms are well managed (immediate isolation, testing, referral) and the health professionals well protected; Women, including adolescents, and men receive access to family planning services; Women and men receive access to HIV and STI counseling and treatment services; Women and girls provided with care and counseling related to gender based violence, including rape; Women provided with care and counseling in the case of abortion, stillbirth, neonatal abnormality and neonatal death; Increased access to midwifery services, including FP and GBV; Community outreach activities are well supported; Production of timely and quality reporting; Maternal deaths and near miss cases reviewed, as well as management of Ebola suspect/infected cases, with recommendations and follow-up; Documentation of best practices for publishing/presentation and newsletters on UNV activities documented and disseminated; A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on

5 the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed. The senior ECOWAS Volunteer midwives will also have contributed to: Excellent management of the midwifery centres; Implementation of the Mano River Midwifery Response Programme; Establishment and running of functional referral mechanisms. VIII. Qualifications/Requirements: midwifery; An additional minimum 3 years of experience in managing midwifery unit, coordinating and supervising staff, mentoring and training staff and quality assurance of midwifery unit; Experience in an ECOWAS Member State is required; experience in an emergency setting is considered an asset; Previous training in dealing with infectious diseases/ public health emergencies is considered as asset; Knowledge of midwifery association, education, legislation and regulation, preferably in the region; Demonstrated skills in team and consensus building; Ability to work independently; For Guinea: fluency in French and a working knowledge of English is required/ For Sierra Leone and Liberia: fluency in English is required. Knowledge of local languages is an advantage. Core Competencies Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Learning Achieving results Being accountable Developing and applying professional expertise Excellent communication skills Ability to work independently Values Exemplifying integrity Demonstrates commitment to UNFPA and the ECOWAS Commission Embracing cultural diversity Embracing change Functional Competencies Conceptual innovation in the provision of technical expertise Job knowledge/technical expertise Adaptation/application of knowledge in different contexts Integration in a multidisciplinary environment IV. Conditions of life The health-systems are under pressure and panic exists among the population and health care workers. It is not easy to predict how the situation will develop over the coming months. The living and working conditions in the areas affected by Ebola are difficult, and each country and host institution put systems in place to assist the volunteers to integrate into the communities to the best of their abilities. V. Conditions of Services As stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding between UNFPA and EVP, ECOWAS Volunteers (in their capacity as individual volunteers) shall serve under contract with EVP and are governed by the applicable EVP Conditions of Service and Code of Conduct as stated in the EVP Management and Administrative Procedures Manual, and the code of conduct of UNFPA.

6 A monthly subsistence allowance (1165 USD) intended to cover housing costs, basic needs and utilities charges are paid monthly. An installation allowance; medical insurance, disability insurance and life insurance; fees for air travel from /to home country. VI. Application criteria and other Considerations Nationals of the assignment country cannot apply to serve in their country of origin. Interested candidates are invited to apply by sending their CV and cover letter to the address: and and copy to no later than 26 June Prepared by: Ibrahim Patingdé A OUEDRAOGO Approved by: Francis Chuks NJOAGUANI Signature: Date: 01/06/2015 Signature: Date: 03/06/2015