Project Description

The USAID-funded Core Group Partners Project (CGPP) project supports a multi-lateral, multi-sectoral approach to strengthening local and global health security by strengthening capacity to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease threats whether occurring naturally or accidentally or being deliberately spread. Achieving global health security requires an inclusive and collaborative effort that builds on the interdependence among communities, civil society, the private sector, and governments. Specifically, the work performed within the auspices of Global Health Security Agenda is designed to help member countries fulfill their obligations to meet targets identified by the international Health Regulations (2005) as measured through Joint External Evaluations. One of the core activities within the GHS project is disease surveillance and community engagement.

The CGPP project is implementing community-based surveillance and community engagement as part of its ongoing polio work. The CGPP project in Kenya will coordinate and collaborate with key stakeholders and line ministries addressing livestock and wildlife health, as well as environmental health, through a “One Health” approach. This new approach provides the opportunity to record those unusual events and report them up so they may be investigated and triaged quickly before they could become outbreaks or worse, epidemics.

The CORE Group Partners project in Kenya is implemented by four international organizations, World Vision (WV), Adventist Development & Relief Agency (ADRA), Catholic Relief Service (CRS) and international Rescue Committee (IRC)) dedicated to addressing infectious disease threats through community programming in cross-border areas.

Objective

The purpose of the Internship is to provide the graduates with skills and understanding on One Health approach in CGPP project sites. The Intern is expected to work with the secretariat and project field teams to understand the project mandate, goals and objectives, and support in implementing the project activities as outlined in the workplan.  The Intern is also expected to identify opportunities for improvement of the project work, address or devise a plan to address challenges identified in the field.

Position Summary

The Interns will be supervised by the project technical lead. The entire project staff will provide guidance, mentorship, and feedback on specific project areas throughout the Internship period. The Interns will receive training related to One Health modules, Community-Based Surveillance (CBS), Risk communication and community engagement, and 7-1-7 framework. The One Health Interns will gain practical experience in the integration of human, animal, and environmental health. Additionally, the Interns will also gain practical experience in community-based surveillance, data collection, analysis, and coordination within the One Health framework focusing on inter-sectoral collaboration for disease prevention, detection and response.

Scope of work

The One Health Interns will support ongoing CGPP initiatives related to Community-Based Surveillance (CBS) for priority zoonotic diseases and vaccine-preventable diseases and the implementation of One Health initiatives Nairobi, Turkana, Wajir, Garissa, Marsabit and Lamu

The One Health Intern will be responsible for the following tasks:

Prepare monthly workplans aligned with IP annual workplan, keep track of planned activities, prepare and submit monthly updates/report to the IPsAssist project officer/manager in the implementation of community-based surveillance systems for priority zoonotic diseases and vaccine-preventable diseases. Participating in field activities i,e joint support supervision, polio SIA campaigns, data quality audits, training for CMS, health workers/animal health assistants, joint risk assessment for PZDs etcConduct weekly CMs data analysis and submit to the ONA system with support from the project officerAssist project officer in preparing project field reports on surveillance findings, and recommendations for improving CBS systems including success Assist the project manager/officer to develop the GHS semiannual report, polio project quarterly and annual reports with support from project managerSupport the project officer to document project success stories and share with secretariat for documentation.Participate in the quarterly One Health coordination meetings, Integrated One Health outreaches, Joint One Health supportive supervision, Community dialogues, and training workshops for stakeholders across human health, animal health, and environmental sectors.Support community mobilisers in conducting community-based surveillance and verification of alerts for both zoonotic diseases and vaccine-preventable disease.Support dissemination of information educational communication (IEC) materials related to disease prevention, vaccination campaigns, and the importance of CBS in disease monitoring.Collaborate with local health departments, veterinary services, and environmental agencies to strengthen One Health coordination and surveillance systems at the county levelSupport training of the project community mobilizers on CBS, RCCE, routine immunization, and other One health modules Participate in monthly IPs meeting and provide project updates.

Expected Outcome

By the end of the Internship period, the inters will gain:Gain Practical experience on the Community-Based disease Surveillance (CBS) model for zoonotic diseases and vaccine-preventable diseases.Improved skills and knowledge of the Interns on One Health approach as implemented by CGPPImproved coordination and support to MOH, Veterinary, COHU, CMs and community support One Health activities. Exposure to data collection, analysis, and reporting related to infectious disease surveillance and control.Hands-on experience in County One Health coordination, working across human, animal, and environmental health sectors to address health threats.Enhanced understanding of the interactions between human, animal, and environmental health in the context of disease surveillance and prevention.

Deliverables

Detailed monthly report capturing implemented activities, achievements, highlighting local solutions to programmatic challenges in the field.Strengthened technical support to CMs, ministerial staff including COHU teams.

Travels

The position will entail frequent travels to the project areas in Turkana, Marsabit, Garissa, Lamu, and Wajir.