The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation seeks

Community Linkage Agents

in support, of

the Pediatric Training Centers of excellence

Background of the contracting organization

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF, or the Foundation), non-profit organization, is the world leader in the fight to eliminate pediatric AIDS. Its mission is to prevent pediatric HIV infection and to eliminate pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention and treatment programs. The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) has worked in Cameroon since 2000 through local and established international organizations and presently has an established office in Cameroon. For more information, please visit http://www.pedaids.org.

PURPOSE/SCOPE OF WORK

The assignment presented in this scope of work (SOW) is to provide effective linkages between communities and the HIV/AIDS treatment facilities for the delivery of high quality HIV/AIDS care in the areas of 1) prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), 2) HIV care and treatment services for adults and children at the pediatric training centers of excellence. The pediatric training centers of excellence aim at ensuring the delivery of high quality HIV/AIDS services in line with national and international standards.

The community agents are agents who will work to create and/or strengthen effective linkages between the communities and health facilities and between health facilities and community-based services and/or organizations to ensure that the populations have access and benefit from the full range of health and health-related services they may need especially with regards to pediatric HIV/AIDS. Working in close collaboration with the pediatric training centers of excellence and communities, they will work to close the health facility-community gap by establishing and/or strengthening the continuum of care between health facilities and communities. The community linkage agents will regularly interface with health facilities and communities and should be well versed with the functioning of the Cameroonian health and community systems. In order to achieve these objectives, the community linkage agents’ responsibilities amongst others will be to:

• Advocate with community and opinion leaders for greater buy-in and support for HIV services and the fight against stigma and discrimination,
• Sensitize the population with regards to the package of health care services delivered in the pediatric training centers of excellence through home visits and focused group discussions,
• Mobilize the communities to seek quality healthcare services from these health care facilities,
• Physically link children and families in need of care to the pediatric training centers of excellence for health care services,
• Work in close collaboration with the health facilities to track and bring back to care HIV exposed children who did not return for their DBS sample collection or PCR results,  
• Work in close collaboration with the pediatric training centers of excellence to track and link to care and treatment the known HIV+ cases not yet on ART,
• Work in close collaboration with the pediatric training centers of excellence to track through phone calls and home visits children and families defaulting care  and lost-to-follow up and bring them back to care,
• Conduct community/home based counseling to promote adherence and retention in care and the uptake of HIV testing through the family model for children of unknown HIV status, their  siblings and parents,
• Assist in confidential community ARV dispensation to stable and adherent patients, 
• Assist in linking families to community based organizations and/or services to benefit from psychosocial services not available in the pediatric training centers of excellence,
• Integrate other health related community activities in their minimum package of activities to reduce HIV/AIDS stigmatization,
• Support  the formation and functioning of community-based  psychosocial support groups to optimize adherence and retention in care
• Use the appropriate tools to capture and report community activities including the community birth cohort monitoring register,

NB: The community linkage agents will be required to carry out other duties as assigned.

Location: Center, Littoral, Southwest, and Northwest regions, reports to the Technical Officers  

Duration: 05 months beginning 14th November 2016

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Holder of GCE O/L  or equivalent qualifications,  
• A strong background and substantial work experience in community work including advocacy, sensitization and mobilization,
• Good communication and coordination skills,  
• Good working experience with health and community systems of the region concerned,
• Fluent in both written and spoken English or French in the English and French speaking regions respectively,
• Currently reside in, or be willing to temporarily relocate to in the chosen region for the duration of the contract period.

Complete application files composed of an application letter, and CV, addressed to the Technical Director of EGPAF Cameroon, should be submitted to the email: CameroonRecruitment@pedaids.org on or before Friday, 4th November 2016, 5:00pm Cameroon time stating in the subject space "'region applied’ Community linkage agent". Any incomplete file, or files submitted after the deadline will be disqualified. Files not forwarded electronically will not be treated.

NB: only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the interview.