Description

 

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.  In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

About the project-Resilience Challenge Fund (RCF)

In Karamoja, low capacity of animal health services has manifested in insufficient and inconsistent veterinary drug and vaccine supplies, weak disease control strategies and interventions with limited economic or epidemiological grounding, weak policy framework and poor enforcement of policies. This results in high animal disease burden and related risks which undermine household production and consumption of livestock products; herd growth; and domestic and cross-border livestock trade therefore the resilience of livestock keepers, and communities which rely upon them. Mercy Corps is implementing a five-year USAID funded food and nutrition security activity called Apolou in Karenga, Kaabong, Kotido and Moroto Districts. In addition to this funding, Mercy Corps received funding for the Increasing Public and Private Investment in Animal Health Systems to Strengthen Productive Assets and Veterinary Governance for Improved Resilience in Karamoja activity (referred to as the ‘Resilience Challenge Fund (RCF) activity’) to inform approaches and policy in the Karamoja sub-region. These activities will occur in Kaabong and Amudat Districts. The purpose of RCF is to explore the effectiveness of interventions to improve animal health systems in two districts in Karamoja, Amudat and Kaabong.

RCF has four high level activities that have been identified that will be implemented in its project implementation phase. These are:

  • Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) prepares and endorses an animal health services capacity-strengthening plan for the Karamoja region
  • MAAIF develops and implements a disease control plan for economically prioritized diseases (Peste de Petites Ruminate-PPR and Foot and Mouth Disease- FMD)
  • MAAIF develops a public private partnership model on animal health services
  • Increase Domestic resource allocation to Animal health services in Karamoja

Animal diseases have the potential to adversely affect human populations by reducing the quantity and quality of food, other livestock products (hides and skins), animal power (traction, transport) and by reducing people’s assets. Uganda as a member of the International organization of epizootics (OIE), is required to maintain an effective animal disease surveillance, control and reporting system as a prerequisite to show transparency. However, policy changes such as decentralization and liberalization of services divested the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF) of its central role of managing livestock diseases. As a result, livestock diseases are now classified as public, private and shared. This coupled with the fact that majority of veterinary laws/ policies are outdated or those that have been revised are still in draft form has resulted in unstructured efforts to manage diseases.

Though classified as a private good, there’s need for central Government to set guidelines for private sector engagement on control of nagana and tick borne diseases (Anaplasmosis, East Coast Fever, Babesiosis and Cowdriasis) which collectively cost the Karamoja livestock sector losses amounting to 27.2 million USD.  This is roughly 10 times more than the Government’s allocation to the production department (Trypanosomiasis Policy Brief, 2017). Currently, national disease strategies have been drafted for nagana/Trypanosomiasis by the coordinating office for the control of Trypanosomiasis in Uganda (COCTU) and FMD and PPR strategies by the Food and Agricultural Organization(FAO).

Purpose / Project Description

Tick and tick-borne diseases require localized treatment and control systems.  Uganda is already reporting acaricide resistance within the tick population. This is caused by inconsistent and over-use of acaracides.  Mercy Corps sees an opportunity for regionally focused strategies which will then then feed in to a national strategy. Mercy Corps seeks a consultant to collaborate with district and national Government authorities to design a disease control strategy for ticks and tick borne diseases in Karamoja from which lessons can be drawn for future development of a national strategy.

RCF is currently conducting additional studies, performance of veterinary service (PVS), barriers and enablers to privatization of veterinary services, market systems research and benchmarking prevalence and socio-economic impact of selected livestock diseases, as well as collaborating with district and MAAIF technical teams to develop district specific disease calendars and vaccination schedules. The consultant will use findings from these studies to inform her/his recommendations.

Consultant Objectives

Mercy Corps seeks a consultant to evaluate the existing tick and tick borne disease control strategies for East Coast Fever (ECF), Anaplasmosis and Babesiosis. The consultant will propose cost effective changes or differing approaches that will be piloted by RCF as a proof of concept for improved prevention, control and eradication of the diseases and their vectors in the Karamoja Region.

Contract Scope

The design will be premised on the following:

  • Identify and review the existing tick and tick borne disease control strategies/ methods, identifying the strengths and weaknesses with a focus on efficiency, effectiveness and economic feasibility.
  • Propose defined roles and responsibilities for the private sector that addresses Government concerns and proposes opportunities for mutually benefiting public-private partnership.
  • For the diseases of interest, either individually or as a collective, suggest an improved cost effective disease control strategy. The proposed system will incorporate realities of government budgets, lessons learned from Ugandan or similar contexts and evidence generated by other studies (i.e. performance of veterinary service (PVS), barriers and enablers to privatization of veterinary services, market systems research, disease calendar and vaccination schedules and benchmarking prevalence and socio-economic impact of selected livestock diseases).

Consultant Activities

The Consultant activities include:

  1. Based on experience and OIE recommendations, define the components and operations of an effective disease control strategy for ticks and tick borne diseases (TBDs).
  2. Collaborate with program staff, government partners and other stakeholders to identify and document the status of current different disease control strategies in relation to the diseases of interest.
  3. Evaluate the disease control strategies with particular emphasis on efficiency, effectiveness and economic feasibility.
  4. Make recommendations to the Government of Uganda and relevant stakeholders on control strategies to be adopted in line with accepted protocols and standards.
  5. Collaborate with Mercy Corps to identify and inform relevant stakeholders for briefing(s)/ validation of the findings. Briefings will be arranged with key stakeholders including among others; Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, district technical, political and administrative staff in all the districts of Karamoja, Development partners (EC, FAO, World Bank, DANIDA, Mercy Corps etc, Uganda Veterinary Association, Uganda Veterinary Board, Dairy Development Authority, NAGRIC & DB, Uganda Beef Producers Association, NARO

Consultant Deliverables

The Consultant will deliver: –

  1. Inception Report including:
  • Literature review of the existing disease control strategies for the diseases of interest.
  • Study ToRs including study design, stakeholder consultative fora (formal and informal) and work plans
  1. Data collection report
  2. Presentation of study findings and recommendations at a stakeholders’ validation meeting.
  3. A final report on disease control strategies for CBPP and tick borne diseases for Karamoja, including financial feasibility and plan for piloting the strategies.

Timeframe

The Consultant will work up to 2 months beginning 1st March, 2021 with the potential for extension.

The Consultant will report to:
Animal Health Manager.

Required Skills and Experience

  • Required; a Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine or other livestock related qualification with five to ten years of proven experience implementing effective disease control systems and/or carrying out similar studies.
  • Advanced degree in Veterinary Epidemiology or Public Health with an Epidemiology track.
  • At least five years’ experience in animal health governance in the East African region, with a clear understanding of livestock health issues in Uganda.
  • Demonstrable knowledge and experience in designing or managing livestock disease surveillance systems.
  • Excellent written and oral English language skills required.
  • Applicants must share previous experiences facilitating workshops with an aim of building consensus and be able to share previously produced technical reports or guides.
  • Computer literacy in MS Office packages including Excel, and Power Point etc
  • Ability to work under pressure and deliver quality products under tight deadlines and in sparse working environments.
  • Short-listed consultants will be vetted and approved by the Ugandan Commissioner of Animal Health, MAAIF before final selection and signing of consulting agreements

Accountability to Partners

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Travel and Working Condition

The consultancy will be conducted in Karamoja, including remotely.

How to Submit Your CV

This notice does not constitute an offer of employment.  Any description contained herein may be modified and/or revoked.  Interested applicants should carefully note the minimum qualifications and submit a CV along with a cover letter detailing previous experience and interest in the position.

Mercy Corps Diversity Statement

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

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