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 Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) is one of the two key lines of the OFDA-funded Rapid Support to the COVID-19 Response in Haiti. 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 of the project, MSH IPC Specialists (a team of three (3) will support RSS on COVID-19 infection prevention and control in 40 health facilities as well as communities in facility catchment areas in 10 departments of the country. It is anticipated that one IPC specialist will support RSS’ project work in 12-18 facilities and surrounding communities.

This includes technical guidance and oversight of all activities under the IPC line of project work. The IPC Specialist will be responsible for working with the Project Director, MSH technical team and RSS in the following areas:
? Direct technical assistance on any COVID-19 IPC related matters encompassing but not limited to coordination, communication and reporting, IPC supplies, triage and evaluation of suspected COVID-19 cases, arrangements for providing care, monitoring health care workers (HCWs) and inpatients for COVID-19, preparing for a surge of patients with COVID-19, etc.
? Overall and facility level planning to ensure compliance with WHO and CDC requirements for IPC. For example WHO Health Facility Checklist (June 26, 2020) specifies 16 requirements in the technical area of IPC. One of the first priorities is to secure availability of personal protective equipment.
? Development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on IPC in accordance with CDC and WHO recommendations
? Work with RSS to adapt training materials to specific country and facility needs
? Provide virtual (preferred) training in IPC to up 500 HCW (1500 in total between the 3 IPC coordinators)
? Provide continuous mentorship to RSS IPC coordinators and HCW in supported facilities
? Provide technical guidance to MSH and RSS team members on issues related IPC aspects of COVD-19 mitigation efforts at the community level
? Develop and submit deliverables and reports specified in the project M&E plan

Anesthésiologie

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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