STOP Missions
CIII-2 identifies health professionals to participate in 3-month assignments to assist with polio eradication and measles mortality reduction in endemic countries. These voluntary missions are in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Stop Transmission of Polio (STOP) Program, the World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF.
Prerequisites
These missions require individuals with international health experience. In order to qualify, one must either have obtained a graduate degree or licensure in health and have five years of relevant work experience in public health. Relevant experience is defined as having worked in one or more of the following areas:
- Communicable disease surveillance,
- Field epidemiology,
- health information and data management, and
- immunization services or programs.
Intercultural experience and the ability to work in French, Portuguese, Arabic and other languages are considered strong assets. Participants must be able to work with little support and supervision and must have strong interpersonal communication skills and cultural sensitivity. They must be in excellent physical condition as access to medical facilities may be limited and living conditions can be difficult.
The Mission
Technical consultants are assigned to a country either in Africa or Asia, to work with a supervisor from the WHO or UNICEF office. After a country-specific orientation, they are assigned to work with a national surveillance officer, focusing on polio eradication activitities, measles mortality reduction, and/or routine immunization services as well as acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance or integrated disease surveillance at the district level. Other activities that may be required include the following:
- planning, monitoring and evaluating National Immunizations Days (NIDs),
- house-to-house immunization,
- strengthening EPI programs (Expanded Programme on Immunization),
- polio case investigation,
- measles mortality reduction activities,
- integrated disease surveillance,
- data management,
- social mobilization, and
- training of health care staff and vaccinators.
Some STOP Participants contribute as Data Managers to assist WHO and Ministries of Health in upgrading their methods of storing and analyzing surveillance data, using Epi-Info Windows. Responsibilities include setting up data entry screens, conducting analysis, generating reports, developing data quality controls, and training national personnel in the use of the application. They work mostly in the national capital. Data Managers need to either know Epi-Info Windows or be able to learn it quickly. Familiarity with GIS and fluency in French are strong assets.
CDC Orientation Prior to Departure
Prior to departing for the assignment, CIII-2 technical consultants meet with the other members of their respective STOP team and receive 12 days of orientation and training conducted by CDC and WHO staff in Atlanta, Georgia. The purpose of the orientation is to provide participants with an overview of the assignment, convey detailed information related to the field work expected and prepare participants to be more effective consultants. The topics covered include:
- overviews of various pathologies,
- epidemiology of polio, measles and other pertinent diseases in different WHO regions,
- integrated disease surveillance,
- mass-immunization campaigns and micro-planning principles,
- routine immunization (EPI) programs,
- strategies for polio eradication and measles control,
- effective training of health workers,
- laboratory networks and lab specimens,
- country-specific information,
- social mobilization,
- working with counterparts,
- intercultural effectiveness, and
- administrative issues.
CIII-2 representatives will meet with all Canadian participants to discuss administrative issues as well as CIDA's Gender Equality Policy.
This initiative is supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the CDC, WHO and UNICEF. Each participant receives training, per diem (e.g., meal allowance and incidentals) and travel expenses. The assignment does not, however, pay a salary.
Living Conditions
Many of the STOP partner countries present living conditions that are especially challenging and should be considered by those interested in applying. Examples of this are a lack of electricity, inconsistent water supply, unaccustomed diet, extreme temperatures, dusty or muddy conditions, difficult communication systems, rugged traveling conditions, and ongoing civil war or armed conflicts.