State Program Associates – MPox Vaccine Introduction at John Snow Inc - JSI

Job Category: Short-term (3months)

Job Locations: Abuja-FCT, Bayelsa, Benue and Enugu

Project: USAID MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity Project

General Information

• The MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity (M-RITE) project is part of a suite of innovative awards funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to holistically improve family planning and maternal and child health in partner countries around the world.
• The project applies best practices and explores innovations to increase equitable immunization coverage in USAID-supported countries around the globe. It works to build countries’ capacity to identify and overcome barriers to reaching zero-dose and under-immunized children and older populations with life-saving vaccines and other integrated health services. M-RITE works at multiple levels and in alignment with global strategies such as the Immunization Agenda 2030 and Gavi 5.0.
• Mpox disease is caused by infection with the mpox virus (MPXV) which is a zoonotic disease with symptoms similar, but less severe, to smallpox. The first human case was confirmed in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). From January 1, 2022 through February 29, 2024, a total of 94,707 laboratory-confirmed cases of mpox, including 181 deaths, have been reported to WHO from 116 countries, territories, or areas in all six WHO Regions. Please see Table 1.
• Mpox re-emerged in Nigeria in 2017, 40 years after the outbreak of 1978, and the country was again affected by the mpox epidemic of 2022. Nigeria has a population of over 200 million, and a high number of groups at increased risk of severe disease and death (such as close contacts of cases, persons in confined settings such prisons and Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camps, most at risk populations including persons living with HIV) in the event of a mpox outbreak.
• Table 1: Number of confirmed cases of mpox by country in the African region from Jan. 2022-Feb. 2024

        (Data source: WHO: https://worldhealthorg.shinyapps.io/mpx_global/)

• Nigeria has the second highest number of confirmed cases of mpox in Africa, trailing behind DRC. As of February 2024, Nigeria had 843 confirmed cases and 9 total deaths. It is critical to leverage the Federal Government of Nigeria’s experience along with M-RITE Nigeria’s technical expertise in achieving significant gains in vaccine delivery to respond to disease outbreaks such as polio, COVID-19 pandemic, measles, etc.
• However, some health systems gaps (limited human resources for health, limited financial resources for cold chain equipment maintenance especially at subnational levels and limited technical capacity) still exist creating a need for increased collaboration with partners and donor agencies as the country rolls out the National Mpox Vaccination Strategy Mpox has been considered the most significant orthopoxvirus since smallpox, which was eradicated in 1980. Vaccination against mpox is an important additional public health tool for controlling the disease.
• With this in mind, the U.S. Government has donated an initial 10,000 JYNNEOS doses of the mpox vaccine to Nigeria, with expected arrival in June 2024. It is pertinent for Nigeria to institute preventive measures, including reducing mpox transmission through the introduction and use of mpox vaccines, preventing disease, or reducing disease severity when combined with other preventive measures including hygiene, avoid direct contact, isolation of cases.
• Stakeholders’ engagement culminated in the development of Nigeria’s National Mpox Vaccination Strategy and Deployment Plan. The stakeholders were drawn from NPHCDA, NCDC, NAFDAC, World Health Organization (WHO), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USAID, Breakthrough ACTION Nigeria (BA-N), FHI 360, USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM), M-RITE, UNICEF, subnational level (state mpox lead case managers, state epidemiologists, state immunization officers), and the Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN).
• The strategy and deployment plan leveraging existing immunization policies in Nigeria, such as the COVID-19 deployment and vaccination plans, National Strategy for Immunization, PHC Strengthening (NSIPSS), as well as the latest SAGE recommendations for mpox vaccination from the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) (March 2024).
• As part of prioritization, a phased approach was adopted for the deployment of the mpox vaccines, which entailed using epidemiology to select states most likely to benefit from mpox vaccination. An initial 5 states were identified including Bayelsa, Edo, Cross Rivers, Lagos and Rivers States, three of which are supported by M-RITE.
• The criteria of selection of these five states includes high volume mpox case management and capacity of ART sites and identification of key populations through gatekeepers and CSOs networking.
• A total of ten health facilities in five states (two facilities in each state) were selected for the mpox vaccination rollout of the initial 10,000 doses, focusing on a fixed site operation strategy, via a coordinated approach managed by the state, LGA and ward personnel in coordination with the teaching hospitals. The epidemiological situation will be monitored continuously to inform program implementation, and further prioritization when more vaccines become available.

Objectives

• Support the State Government with overall coordination arrangements to facilitate the implementation of the MPOX vaccination strategy and roll out
• Support the state in oversight and monitoring of the plan implementation, contribute to exploring bottleneck and provide TA for remedial actions where feasible

Background
USAID funded support for the MPOX vaccination in Nigeria, centers around two main objectives:

• Support vaccine access for Nigeria that will receive 10,000 USAID funded doses, and
• Targeted support for selected states readiness and delivery of USAID funded doses in Nigeria.

Scope of Work

• Proposed activities to meet Nigeria’s country readiness and delivery objective should take into account and utilize the existing health care infrastructure, and particularly those developed for deployment of COVID-19 and routine immunization vaccines. Nigeria will  receive limited quantities of the JYNNEOS™ vaccine initially (at most 10, 000 doses)  and as such, existing structures and systems should be generally adequate to support the rollout and administration of this vaccine.
• Care should be taken not to displace essential health services, such as routine immunization and COVID-19 vaccination and care. Technical support will be provided in close coordination and oversight by the USAID/Nigeria POC and the scope will be shaped by requests for assistance from the GoN.  Technical assistance for policy, planning, coordination, can include:

Technical Resource for Immunization:

• Support strategic, programmatic, operational and micro-planning for mpox vaccination program that target contacts and high-risk groups based on the country epidemiology;
• Support the development of capacity building materials for mpox vaccination roll-out
• Support service delivery planning including trainings and supportive supervision
• Support demand generation activity planning/risk communication and community engagement plans and implementation plans;
• Support development of a monitoring, evaluation, research and learning plan for the mpox response;
• Collaborate with the SPHCDA/B immunization team members to develop and implement strategies to improve USAID support for mpox vaccination;
• Participate in consultations, working groups, and negotiations related to mpox vaccine technical assistance in coordination with USAID/Nigeria;
• Prepare and present technical presentations at meetings and workshops as appropriate; and
• Monitor and analyse equity trends and issues related to mpox vaccination

Technical and operational support to program implementation:

• Conduct regular program field visits and surveys, and share information with partners and stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support and/or refer to relevant officials for resolution.
• Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners, and other country office partners on the application and understanding of JSI policies, strategies, processes, and best practices on health-related issues to support program implementation, operations and delivery of results.

Program Management Support:

• Through JSI/MRITE Sr. Immunization Technical Advisor and State Team Leads will provide state of the art technical and programmatic expertise to SPHCDA/B
• Serve to advance state level project management of the mpox immunization programming, as well as immunization-related research and evaluation activities.
• Assist in monitoring the mpox implementation technical performance; and
• Support site visits to monitor mpox immunization field activities, as needed.
• Provide regular progress reports and a final report with a slide deck    Networking and partnership building:
• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with health sector government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to enhance program implementation and build the capacity of stakeholders to deliver concrete and sustainable results.
• Draft communication and information materials for mpox program advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships/alliances, and support fundraising for health program.
• Participate in the mpox/SERRIC coordination meetings to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on operational planning and preparation of health program/projects, and to integrate and harmonize USAID/JSI’s position and strategies.
• Prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for partnership development purposes.

Deliverables

• Develop bi-weekly program reports to supervisor outlining activities conducted, progress made (vaccine utilization rates) and planned activities
• Meeting notes with government ministries and agencies as well as partners
• Monthly reports to supervisor on outputs and results on all areas of work outlined in the SOW
• Engage relevant state level stakeholders on domestic resource mobilization to support mpox vaccination expansion

Professional Skills Required of MRITEs Consultants

• Master's Degree and a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in the field of global public health, Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID), Global Health Security (GHS) or related field.
• Minimum 3 years direct experience managing or advising on routine immunization programs, reactive vaccination campaigns for outbreaks or targeted vaccination of priority populations for EIDs.
• Demonstrated knowledge of RI vaccination efforts and routine immunization systems strengthening best practices; and familiarity with global immunization policies and strategies
• Experience working with an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) preferred
• Experience in evaluation design and iterative learning, using data and predictive analysis for design, performance monitoring and decision making
• Prior experience working in Nigeria and with SPHCDA/B and/or NCDC and SMOH is an advantage
• Understanding of health systems in LMICs.
• Excellent interpersonal and team skills–demonstrated ability to interact professionally with culturally and linguistically diverse staff, clients, and consultants
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple tasks concurrently, and meet deadlines with attention to detail and quality
• Excellent written, oral communication, computer and emotional intelligence skills
• Fluent spoken and written English

Performance and Period of Performance

• The period of performance will be from July 1, 2024 and January 31, 2025 and at 100% level of effort. This TA will be provided primarily at the state level. The period of performance may be adjusted depending on the vaccine donation and the roll out timeline.

Relationship and Responsibilities

• The Program Associates will maintain close working relationships with SMOH, SPHCDA/B, WHO, UNICEF, FAO and other implementing partners, and other immunization partners as directed.

Note

• JSI has a zero-tolerance policy for any form of abuse, exploitation or violence. We take every measure to prevent such incidents and to ensure compliance to our donors. We will expect all our employees/Consultants/Interns/Volunteers to commit to protecting children, young people and vulnerable adults from harm and abide by our safeguarding policy.
• JSI is an equal opportunity employer and encourages individuals from diverse backgrounds to apply.