Surveillance active
Organizational Context
The World Health Organization (WHO), established in 1948, is the UN specialized agency dedicated to international public health. It works with 194 member states across six regional offices and over 150 country offices to promote health, ensure global safety, and serve vulnerable populations. The Obock region in Djibouti hosts Yemeni refugees fleeing conflict, facing challenging conditions with limited water, sanitation, and high risks of diseases like acute watery diarrhea and measles, exacerbated by a prolonged drought.
Job Purpose
This position aims to strengthen active surveillance at the Obock Health Center (CMH) and within the Obock locality to rapidly detect suspected disease cases. The role involves coordinating a team of volunteers in the field, working closely with health structures, local authorities, and humanitarian partners. The volunteer will ensure adherence to humanitarian principles and confidentiality while contributing to disease detection and response efforts in a challenging environment characterized by refugee influx and health risks.
Responsibilities
The volunteer will conduct active case finding at the Obock Health Center by reviewing hospital registers to identify suspected cases among refugees and supporting clinical staff in verification. They will document and immediately notify suspected cases to the WHO Country Office and assist with laboratory sample collection. In the Obock locality, the volunteer will conduct regular visits to health posts, private clinics, and community health workers to identify unnotified suspected cases and support their recognition and notification. The role includes overseeing the cholera screening strategy, maintaining a case list, and ensuring daily data transmission. Additionally, the volunteer will supervise two other volunteers in Obock, coordinate daily activities, consolidate data, and serve as the primary focal point for the WHO Country Office Emergency/Surveillance Manager. Responsibilities also encompass maintaining and updating case lists, supporting daily and weekly reporting, ensuring data quality, and reporting zero cases when applicable. The volunteer will assist rapid response teams in outbreak investigations and contact tracing, document findings, and adhere to safeguarding, child protection, PSEA, do-no-harm, non-discrimination, and confidentiality principles.
Work Experience
While no prior experience is strictly required, at least one year of experience in health screening, surveillance, or humanitarian response is preferred. Experience at entry points or in border health is considered an asset. Strong communication and interpersonal skills, the ability to work under pressure, basic data collection and reporting skills, and proficiency in MS Office are essential.
Skills
Key competencies include responsibility, adaptability, flexibility, creativity, judgment, decision-making, planning, organization, professionalism, and self-management. Expertise in emergency preparedness and crisis response is also highlighted. Excellent knowledge of Arabic and French is required, with Afar or Somali being an asset.