National Consultant - Support the Development of the Nigerian Essential Diagnostic List at World Health Organization (WHO)

Job ID: 1904786
Location: Nigeria
Grade: No grade
Contractual Arrangement: Individual service contractor
Contract duration: 25 days
Organization: AF_NGA Nigeria
Schedule: Full-time 

Background/Objective

• In 2018, the WHO has published a model list of essential in vitro diagnostics, a catalogue of the tests needed to diagnose the most common conditions as well as a number of global priority diseases
• The new Essential Diagnostics List (EDL) is intended to be used as a reference for (developing) countries to update or develop their own list of essential diagnostics that should be widely available, accessible, and affordable throughout health systems.
• A critical component to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), is the access to essential products, including diagnostic tests. Testing is crucial for quality healthcare and to ensure the optimal use of essential medicines, to detect outbreaks, and to have robust surveillance systems for antimicrobial resistance and pandemics.
• The objectives of this project are to develop the national EDL and to determine the barriers to accessing diagnostic testing services across Nigeria through the implementation of a survey.

Specific Tasks

• To provide technical expertise to develop a survey tool to assess laboratory infrastructure and services throughout the health system
• To facilitate a workshop to train volunteers to implementing the survey tool at State level
• To support the development of the agendas for 2 national workshops
• To provide technical expertise to analyse the data collected from the survey tool
• To provide technical expertise to develop the 1st draft of the national EDL

Required Skills, Qualifications, and Experience

• University Degree in Medicine, Life Science, Medical Virology from an accredited/recognized institute
• Certified training or qualification in molecular biology, virology,bacteriology, infectious diseases, and/or epidemiology and laboratory techniques
• Advanced University Degree in Public Health, or other health related Degree is an asset
• At least 5 years experience establishing or improving laboratory infrastructure for microbiology and/or detection of infectious diseases.
• Experience in planning and implementing laboratory trainings at national and regional levels.
• Previous experience in UN organizations/agencies, health cluster partners, recognized humanitarian organizations, international institutions or nongovernmental organizations, particularly in developing countries.