VN027 – An agency to support the assessment in measuring the performance of malaria surveillance system in northern region and for the whole country of Viet Nam

Background:

The World Health Organization (WHO) Global technical strategy for malaria 2016–2030 emphasizes surveillance as a core intervention for accelerating progress towards malaria elimination across endemic settings. Robust surveillance systems are needed to track the burden of malaria, monitor the implementation of interventions aimed at reducing cases and deaths, and assess their impact accurately and reliably.

The WHO document Malaria Surveillance, Monitoring & Evaluation: A Reference Manual (2018) provides guidance on the principles and requirements for effective malaria surveillance. Regular assessment of existing surveillance systems is a core principle recommended across the malaria transmission continuum.

An assessment of the surveillance system is essential for obtaining quantitative baseline data to assess the results of surveillance systems (for example, data quality, surveillance strategies, etc.), to understand the specific factors that explain the current performance of the system, to evaluate progress as new activities are carried out, and to determine the most effective surveillance activities to undertake. Results from this assessment will be used to monitor progress towards malaria elimination and to make data-driven decisions to prioritize interventions and allocate resources more effectively.

As Vietnam is close to achieving the goal of reaching zero cases of Plasmodium falciparum by 2024 and all malaria by 2030, the need of a surveillance system that not only be able to capture all malaria cases in a timely manner, but also to support for documentation of malaria certification is a high priority. Therefore, assessing the current surveillance system to identify its gaps and improve its functions is of enormous demand for the country. The assessment of malaria surveillance system in Viet Nam will adapt the toolkit developed by WHO.

Specific Objectives

The agency is expected to conduct the assessment in accordance with the recommendations of the WHO Malaria Surveillance Assessment Toolkit (implementation reference guide). The chosen agency is expected to perform the following tasks:

• Assessment initiation.
• Data collection and review.
• Data analysis
• Prioritization of recommendations and dissemination

Planned timeline:

From 15 July to 31 December 2023

Specific requirements

Educational Qualifications

• Team lead                     

• Essential: Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) on health sciences, or health related discipline from a recognized university.
• Desirable: Advanced degree in public health or epidemiology or health related discipline 

• Team members

• Essential: Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) on health sciences, or health related discipline from a recognized university.
• Desirable: Training on epidemiology, disease surveillance

Experience

• Team lead

• Essential: Minimum 10 years of experience in control of vector borne disease particularly in malaria
• Desirable: Experience on assessment/review of the health programmes, public health programme related interventions particularly on malaria and other vector borne diseases; Experience in analysis of malaria epidemiology and/or other infectious diseases

• Team members

• Essential: Minimum 5 years of experience in control of vector borne disease particularly in malaria
• Desirable: Experience on supporting the assessment/review of the health programmes, public health programme related interventions particularly on malaria and other vector borne diseases; Experience in supporting the analysis of malaria epidemiology and/or other infectious diseases

Skills and knowledge:

• Knowledge of surveillance system in Vietnam, especially for malaria case management, supervision, and reporting
• Knowledge on prevention and control of vector borne diseases particularly on malaria, public health responses, analytical and presentation skill, and computer literacy
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Language requirements:

• Excellent knowledge of Vietnamese and English

Place of assignment

Off-site and on-site: Hanoi and other selected provinces

The team may travel to regional malaria institutes and relevant field activities

Address for application:

Subject: Application for VN027 - To support the assessment in measuring the performance of malaria surveillance system in northern region and for the whole country of Viet Nam

World Health Organization

wpvnmdc@who.int