Job opportunity: Bednet Study for USAID through the IRG
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I am contacting you from the International Resources Group (IRG) in
Washington DC.
As part of a contract that IRG holds with the US Agency for Interna-
tional Development (USAID), I am looking for a specialist to provide
technical assistance based on the SOW below. The TA team will need to
conduct fieldwork in Malawi, Zambia, Kenya and Mozambique. I would be
very happy to review the resumes of qualified and interested candi-
dates.
Thank you!
Sylvia Johansen Megret
Senior Associate
Business Development
International Resources Group
1211 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 700
Washington DC 20036 , USA
Tel: +1-202-289-0100
Fax: +1-202-289-7601
mailto:Smegret@irgltd.com
http://www.irgltd.com
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Subtask 5a. Insecticide-treated Nets (ITN) for malaria control in Af-
rica.
Technical Assistance in preparation of individual Pesticide Evaluation
Reports and Safe Use Action Plans of Insecticide-treated Nets (ITN) for
malaria control in Africa. This will include the bilateral programs
linked to the Africa Integrated Malaria Initiative (AIMI), individual
PVOs' health and child survival programs involving ITN, and other rele-
vant programs. Special attention will be given to programs in Eastern
and Southern Africa. This T.A. also will be linked to the implementa-
tion of the G/HPN and AFR/SD/HRD NetMark program in sub-Saharan Africa,
which emphasizes the role of the commercial private sector.
ITNs are an important tool for reducing the incidence of insect-borne
diseases. However, the associated use of chemical insecticides presents
a variety of potential hazards. This assistance will assess relative
hazards of ITN use, re-treatment and disposal. The results will be used
to identify mitigation measures to deal with environmental and health
hazards associated with bednets, with clear recommendations, suitable
wherever bed nets are used, that will reduce the hazards.
Concerns include the re-treatment process, the stockists' role, scenar-
ios for the appropriate re-treatment, including at the household level,
or at the micro-enterprise, level, etc.
The existing pesticide action plans associated with IEEs in Benin, Ma-
lawi and Zambia need to be re-examined to deal with the issues of in-
secticide resistance, and commercializing the marketing of bednets.
Several more plans are expected to be needed wherever ITN programs are
being considered e.g., in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Mozambique. IEEs should
contain the pesticide analysis and within it an Action Plan. If the IEE
does not provide pesticide analysis, then an action plan that follows
the IEE is useful and appropriate.
Approach: field a team to go to key countries (e.g., Malawi, Zambia,
Kenya and Mozambique) in one or two trips and develop/complete with the
concerned Mission SOs and their partners, an action plan that covers
the cradle to grave use of the nets. If the action plans are crafted
with the concerned partners and they could be convinced to include some
training or some of the action plan into already planned training, then
one can expect the recommendations would be followed. This will be co-
ordinated inter alia with NetMark, AIMI, and the WHO Roll Back Malaria
Program.
NetMark is slated for award in August 1999. It is expected that under
NetMark some accommodation will be made to develop a regional framework
for an ITN IEE. This framework may include guidelines for country-
specific action plans. Each participating NetMark country will use
these guidelines to develop their action plan. We need to work with the
NetMark winners to develop the standards and criteria for the framework
and the guidelines, and to provide critical review of the country ac-
tion plans. Once the award of NetMark is made a more detailed plan as
to how to advance the matter will be developed.
EPIQ will find (with AFR help) a few candidates and develop a SOW with
existing action plans and drafts in mind. A highly knowledgeable person
(s) could spend one to two weeks in each location, which would be suf-
ficient if the partners were organized and available. The identified
technical expert will attend the next biennial Malaria and Bednets Con-
ference in Dar es Salaam, 11-15 October, 1999.
Timeline: Begin October 1, 1999, finish by June 1, 2000.
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Send mail for the `AFRO-NETS' conference to `afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org'.
Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'.
For additional assistance, send mail to: `owner-afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org'.