LonAdd HR Consultancy Plc (www.lonadd.com) is a Recruitment & Outsourcing Company based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with branch offices in Dukem, Hawassa and Bahir Dar. We are looking to recruit a qualified applicant on behalf of our client.

Location         Addis Ababa 

No. required   – One (#1)

Start Date –   Immediately available.

BACKGROUND

The immunization programme in urban areas faces multiple challenges that contribute to the accumulation of zero-dose children and under-vaccinated populations, particularly among low socio-economic communities. These challenges often result in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. Urban areas are characterized by diverse communities with widespread and uneven socio-economic backgrounds, high population mobility, and other barriers such as the inconvenient location of health facilities, long waiting times, competing priorities, healthcare providers’ attitudes, and a lack of awareness. Additionally, gender-related and language barriers further exacerbate low immunization rates, particularly among low-income communities.

Addis Ababa, the capital city, exemplifies these challenges as it accommodates internally displaced people from various parts of the country. The influx of displaced populations creates additional hurdles for immunization efforts in urban settings. Although the overall administrative vaccination coverage of Addis Ababa is high, there are still children who are left behind. These include those living in urban slums, geographically isolated areas without nearby health facilities, those in the outskirts of the city, street dwellers, children from the poorest and uneducated families, are not  able to fully utilize the immunization services due to various barriers awareness, social, economic, and/ or geographic, gender, language and  other barriers.

 Justification

To address these issues, Client supports the redesign of urban immunization strategies to reach the most vulnerable populations in urban slums and city outskirts. Client’s experience has demonstrated significant success in improving immunization coverage for underserved communities in midsize towns within the Oromia, Amhara, and South Ethiopia regions. Redesigning urban immunization to effectively reach vulnerable and underserved communities in Addis Ababa requires a comprehensive approach. This includes identifying and mapping target populations, registering beneficiaries, engaging multi-sector stakeholders,  capacity development, initiatives, and implementing real-time monitoring. Additionally, documenting and sharing best practices will be essential for scaling up successful strategies.

These tasks demand a dedicated individual to be embedded within the Addis Ababa Regional Health Bureau. This person will provide day-to-day support for implementing activities in alignment with the framework provided by Clients ECO. The assignment aims to test and develop best practices for reaching underserved urban communities experiencing multidimensional poverty. The implementation of the urban immunization improvement project will generate valuable insights and inform strategies for reaching underserved communities in urban areas. Despite high overall coverage rates, the project focuses on identifying and vaccinating zero-dose children and ensuring equitable immunization access.

Purpose, Objectives and expected Results 

 Purpose: To achieve equitable and universal immunization coverage by focusing on underserved urban communities. This goal will be accomplished through active stakeholder engagement, the adoption of innovative, community-driven strategies, enhancing service integration and the strengthening of the healthcare system.

1.  Objectives of the Assignment
2. Assess urban immunization situation at health facilities using tools shared by end of February 2025.
3. Engage relevant stakeholders by providing orientation—including local leaders, health workers, volunteer community members, and caregivers—to identify and describe zero doses and under vaccinated children by end of March 2025.
4. Implement digital solutions to effectively identify, register , map ZD and under vaccinated children and link with health facilities for immunization.
5. Optimize immunization service delivery points by expanding and improving immunization rooms from March to July 2025, increasing capacity by at least 20%.
6. Apply human-centered design principles in April 2025 to increase demand for immunization services, aiming for a 25% increase in service utilization in targeted areas.
7. Monitor and measure program effectiveness using an appropriate package of tools from February to August 2025, with bi-monthly reports to assess progress and identify areas for improvement.

   DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNEMENT 

The incumbent will be assigned to the Addis Ababa City Administration Health Bureau for eight months and collaborate with relevant directorates at the Regional Health Bureau, sub-city health offices, health facilities, other sectors, and community leaders to achieve the expected outcomes. The Technical Assistant (TA) will lead immunization situation assessments, provide technical leadership in coordinating and planning, design appropriate approaches, strengthen integrated service delivery, utilize digital solutions, and oversee implementation, monitoring, and review activities.

The TA will adapt and customize data collection tools to assess the immunization landscape, coordinate data collection efforts, analyze findings, and effectively communicate results. Based on the assessment, the TA will engage stakeholders to build consensus and focus on reaching underserved communities. The consultant will also design service integration approaches such as vaccination, nutrition screening, birth registration, hygiene promotion and implement digital solutions, such as mobile texts and reminders, to improve access to immunization services for unreached populations.

Additionally, the TA will work with sub-city health offices and health facilities to enhance service delivery, including optimizing immunization rooms and service hours. S/he will apply a human-centered design approach to address challenges related to demand in urban slum settings and monitor and review the implementation of urban immunization improvement initiatives.

The consultant will provide regular updates, including monthly, quarterly, and bi-monthly reports, to ensure continuous progress and accountability.

DELIVERABLES / REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The urban immunization improvement intervention funded by US CDC will be implemented in Addis Ababa city and Debre Markos town from February to September 2025. The project will build on lessons learned from the previous implementations. To ensure quality  standards of operation procidures will be developed by ECO and appropriate orientation will be provided to consultant and relevant government staff. All the relevant stakeholders including key sectors will be engaged in planning, implementation, and monitoring of project. The MoH and Client will oversee the implementation of the project. Proper guidance and oversight will be provided on preparation of presentation, training and reporting of activities Guidance  Reporting template and guidelines for  human interest story will be provided by Client ECO

Major Tasks 

Deliverables 

LOCATION AND DURATION

• Urban immunization improvement interventions will be implemented in Addis Ababa, targeting selected sub-cities with a high number of zero-dose and under-vaccinated children. The project duration is approximately eight months.
• The consultant’s support will span from February 1, 2025, to 30 September 2025, aligning with the project’s implementation timeline.
• The technical assistant will be based at the Addis Ababa City Administration Health Bureau, working with the immunization and child health team to strengthen immunization efforts.
• The consultant is expected to enhance the service integration through multi-sectoral approach.
• The consultant is expected to provide event-specific, monthly, quarterly, and biannual reports.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The immunization team in the health section mainly immunization specialist with support from health manager and other team members will be responsible to manage contract and grant. Funds for the contact is available from Grant number SC240755. This consultant is an additional along with the other consultants contract number 43394105

GENERAL CONDITIONS: PROCEDURES AND LOGISTICS

• The third party consultant will be provided transport and DSA by hiring company or  third party event management firm when approved by Client
• The consultant will work from Addis Ababa regional health bureau and sub-cities and will come to Client office when invited by responsible persons
• The third-party consultant will use his/her own materials such as computers and other office supplies and Client will not provide any supplies
• Travel should be approved by Client prior to commencement of the trip.
• The payment will be made on monthly bases upon completion of milestones and submission of report and when deliverable is certified by responsible person.
• Contract will commence when the contract is signed by both third party staff and third-party company.