The health care system in Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries, has very limited capacity to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, which could quickly require more than 400,000 hospitalizations and cause tens of thousands of deaths. Many health workers are already in quarantine following unprotected exposure to the virus, and low knowledge about proper infection protection and control (IPC) procedures—and lack of clean water, soap, and personal protective equipment (PPE)—is hampering the response. Physical distancing is impractical due to crowded living conditions and subsistence livelihoods, and trust in the government is low.
To help address this looming crisis while maintaining essential health care services, and with anticipated future funds from USAID and the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), MSH will lead the Rapid Support to the COVID-19 Response in Haiti project. MSH will work with local partner Relais sans Souci (RSS) to build urgently-needed response capacity at health facilities and communities in 10 department of the country under the guidance of health ministry and in coordination with other national counterparts, mobilizing action, beginning with prevention and response strategies recommended by WHO, CDC, and other agencies, in line with the country’s COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan

Description of Services to be Performed
COVID-19 Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) is one of the two key lines of the OFDA-funded Rapid Support to the COVID-19 Response in Haiti project. The work is guided by the Haiti Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP’s) National COVID-19 Response Plan, OFDA guidance, CDC guidance (May 20, 2020) regarding containing COVID-19 in non-US Healthcare settings, and the US Government Action Plan to Support the International Response to COVID-19 (April 16, 2020).

To facilitate the broader objectives the of the project, MSH’ Health and Community Engagement Specialist will support our partner on the ground (RSS) on COVID-19 risk communication and community engagement in 10 departments of the country in coordination with the Project Director and Infection and Prevention and Control (IPC) Specialists on the team. The Health and Community Engagement Specialist will be responsible for providing technical guidance and oversight of all activities under the RCCE line of project work to contribute to raising awareness among communities about COVID-19, with a focus on informing and educating the community through Community Health Workers (CHWs) on COVID-19 to build trust, reduce stigma, and minimize exposure and risk for individuals at the highest risk of death. Needs include communication about transmission and IPC precautions, including hand and respiratory hygiene and physical distancing, guidance for environmental cleaning and disinfection and management of mild cases at home, supporting referrals to hospitals for suspected cases

Specifically the Specialist will be responsible for the following activities, in close coordination with RSS:
? Develop and lead overall approach for RCCE in the project
? Develop and vet approaches for social and behavioral change
? Develop methodology and tools for RCCE and oversee implementation of community surveys
? Lead community level planning for RCCE activities, ensuring alignment with approved budget
? Define RCCE community engagement strategies and communication channels
? Adapt existing RCCE training materials to specific country and facility needs
? Lead and coordinate virtual (preferred) and face-to-face training in RCCE to a pool of RSS trainers with the goals of training up to 4000 HCW/CHW on Risk Communication and Community Engagement (BCC)
? Provide continuous technical guidance and mentorship to RSS BCC coordinators in supported communities
? Provide technical guidance to MSH and RSS team members on issues related to risk communication and behavior chance aspects of COVD-19 mitigation efforts at the community level
? Coordinate with other partners working in this area to ensure harmonization of efforts and prevent duplication of effort
? Develop deliverables and monthly reports specified in the project M&E plan and according to project

Management et Gestion des services de santé

The consultant will work primarily in Port-au-Prince, in coordination with the MSH project team and the partner organization (RSS). Travel to the field is not anticipated to exceed 30%.

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