Update UNHCR referral guidelines Consultancy

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a home-based Consultancy within the Public Health Section in the Division of Resilience and Solutions, Geneva.

UNHCR is a global organisation dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. We are in over 125 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for millions.

Title: Update UNHCR referral guidelines Consultancy

Duty Station: home-based

Duration: starting as soon as possible for 35 working days

Contract Type: Individual Consultancy

Closing date: 11 June 2021

Start date: as soon as possible

Organisational context

UNHCR’s document ‘Principles and Guidance for Referral health care for Refugees and other Persons of Concern’ was published in December 2009. This document aims to provide UNHCR staff and partners with specific, relevant and practical principles and guidance on how to plan and implement a country level health referral scheme for refugees, asylum seekers and other persons of concern (PoCs). This guidance is used as a basis for developing respective country level referral Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs), to reflect country specific context and needs. The current guidance is outdated due to: 1) changes in the overall humanitarian context, including UNHCR’s role in refugee operations (as enshrined in the Global Compact on Refugees), 2). New medical and public health developments in various areas, and 3) evolving health needs of some refugee populations e.g. higher incidence of NCDs and cancers. This makes it necessary to revise and update the current UNHCR’s global referral guidelines.

Duties and responsibilities

UNHCR’s document ‘Principles and Guidance for Referral health care for Refugees and other Persons of Concern’ was published in December 2009. This document aims to provide UNHCR staff and partners with specific, relevant and practical principles and guidance on how to plan and implement a country level health referral scheme for refugees, asylum seekers and other persons of concern (PoCs). This guidance is used as a basis for developing respective country level referral Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs), to reflect country specific context and needs. The current guidance is outdated due to: 1) changes in the overall humanitarian context, including UNHCR’s role in refugee operations (as enshrined in the Global Compact on Refugees), , 2). New medical and public health developments in various areas, and 3) evolving health needs of some refugee populations e.g. higher incidence of NCDs and cancers. This makes it necessary to revise and update the current UNHCR’s global referral guidelines.

The incumbent will be required to undertake a desk review of secondary and tertiary health care interventions, their cost-effectiveness and level of care available in different contexts. Additionally, key informant interviews will be conducted at the global, regional and national level. Obtained information will be collated and incorporated in the revised guidelines.

Specifically, among key areas of emphasis will include:

• Determine what has worked well, good practices, challenges and lessons learned to be reflected in the revised referral guideline

• Review current tools that facilitate implementation and monitoring of medical referrals, and provide recommendations on what should be retained, revised or replaced

• Revision of Terms of Reference for medical referral committees

• Provide clear guidance on emergency life-saving interventions

• Beyond the current major focus of supporting emergency life-saving care, establish and include a list of cost-effective elective referral procedures to be considered in UNHCR operations. Examples include cataract surgery (a major cause of preventable blindness), orthopaedic corrective surgeries (to prevent mobility-related impairment and disability), and cholecystectomy and herniorrhaphy. In the absence of surgical care, common, easily treatable illnesses become diseases with high fatality rates or lead to significant impairment.

• Identify new thematic areas for consideration in the revised guidelines e.g. inclusion of disability services such as provision of assistive devices, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, and palliative care

• Consolidate recommendations on neonatal and obstetric care, cancer screening, early diagnosis and treatment of cancer, chronic renal failure and mental health.

• Describe the different modalities for providing secondary and tertiary level health care including referral to government facilities, use of private sector facilities; visiting surgeons and specialists from within a country; specialist international missions e.g. Operation Smile and the role of telemedicine

• Explore and include new partnerships required in implementation and monitoring of the revised guidelines, indicating potential respective roles and responsibilities in the revised guidelines

Essential minimum qualifications and professional experience required

• A clinical background (nurse, medical doctor) with at least 10 years’ experience in implementing clinical and health programmes including in hospital settings

• Familiarity with and experience in clinical and health care in diverse resource poor settings

• Experience in designing policies, protocols and technical guidelines

• Advanced university degree in health administration or related health field desirable

• Experience working in humanitarian settings desirable.

• Excellent spoken, writing and reporting skills in English.

• Good communication skills

Location

The successful candidate will be working home-based.

Conditions

The consultancy is planned to be home-based