Health Economics Intern needed at Global Health Fellows Program II
Global Health Fellows Program II
Health Economics Intern
Commodities Security and Logistics Division, Office of Population and Reproductive Health, Bureau for Global Health, United States Agency for International Development
Anticipated timeframe: June 2015 – November 2015: Compensated 24 week internship
Location: Washington, DC/Arlington, VA
INT-P4-050
The Global Health Fellows Program (GHFP-II) is a five year cooperative agreement implemented and managed by the Public Health Institute in partnership with Global Health Corps, GlobeMed, Management Systems International and PYXERA Global. GHFP-II is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
GHFP-II’s goal is to improve the effectiveness of USAID health programs by addressing the Agency’s immediate and emerging human capacity needs. The program seeks to accomplish this goal first through the recruitment, placement and support of diverse health professionals at the junior, mid and senior levels. These program participants include fellows, interns, corporate volunteers and Foreign Service National professionals. The program then provides substantial performance management and career development support to participants, including annual working planning assistance, and ensures that professional development opportunities are available.
Looking to the future, GHFP-II also seeks to establish a pool of highly-qualified global health professionals that will ensure the Agency’s ongoing technical leadership and effectiveness. This objective is supported by an extensive outreach program that brings global health opportunities and specialized career advice to a diverse range of interested individuals, with a particular focus on those underrepresented in the field of global health.
BACKGROUND:
The Health Economics Intern will be assigned to the Commodities Security Logistics Division (CSL) under the Office of Population and Reproductive Health (PRH) in the Bureau for Global Health (GH). The PRH Office provides coordination and performance tracking for the family planning component of the United States Government’s (USG) Global Health Initiative. The Office provides strategic direction, technical leadership and support to field programs in voluntary family planning and reproductive health, in collaboration with global and regional partners. The CSL Division supports USAID’s efforts to strengthen commodity security – i.e., improving the availability of and access to essential health commodities for people in low and middle income countries. Commodity security is an essential component of health services. In many low and middle income countries, people are often unable to reliably access health commodities due to inadequate supply, policy barriers, ineffective health systems, and limited understanding of the marketplace. Expertise across a range of disciplines is required to advance commodity security, and to design and implement policies and programs that support it. Financing, policy reform, market segmentation and development, procurement, logistics, workforce capacity, performance improvement, and institutional strengthening are just some areas of concern.
INTRODUCTION:
An essential part of CSL’s work is overseeing the central procurement of high quality, low-cost family planning and other public health products and the provision of these products to low and middle income countries. CSL also aims to support the development of nascent contraceptive markets and tailor donations based on the development of individual markets. The Health Economics Intern will assist CSL to better understand the factors that contribute to a well-functioning, regulated market and supply chain integrity as well as best practices to detect, prevent as well as correct failures in supply chains and its impact on health and markets. The Intern will also assist in the modeling of stages of market development. S/he will work closely with the Senior Market Development Advisor and Technical Advisor as his/her onsite managers.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
• Gaining an understanding of the externalities of free and subsidized products on markets, namely in the area of health and in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Gaining an understanding of the role of regulatory authority for pharmaceuticals and agricultural and veterinary products in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Deepening skills in collaboration and coordination within a complex organizational and implementation structure.
• Gaining an understanding of how USAID supports supply chain systems for public health and how the agency is evolving in efficient approaches and integration across disease categories such as family planning, HIV, malaria, and maternal and child health.
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Determining the drivers of supply chain integrity including consequences when integrity is weak.
• Mapping the information that CSL, Office of HIV and AIDS (OHA), and President Malaria’s Initiative currently have on supply chain integrity within GH.
• Providing support to the CSL pharmacist, to refine Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to detect supply chain weakness.
• Assisting the CSL technical advisor and pharmacist in developing an intake form to document failures or weaknesses in commodity management practices within USG funded health programs.
• Collaborating with the Senior Market Development Advisor to review the factors that determine a country’s market development stage.
• Providing support to the Senior Market Development Advisor to develop a functioning model of country market development.
• Other tasks or responsibilities may be assigned based on organizational and programming need and/or the Intern’s own interests.
QUALIFICATIONS
• Currently enrolled master’s or other post-bachelor’s degree candidate in a program related to economics, supply chain management, business, pharmacy, public health, or international development; or, completion of such within the past 12 months.
• Basic understanding of pharmaceutical markets in developing countries.
• Ability to do economic and/or econometric modeling/regression analyses.
• Understanding of the changing economic landscape in Africa and interest in Sub-Saharan African development is preferred.
• Strong analytical, oral and written communication skills.
• US citizenship or US permanent residency required.
COMPENSATION:
$1,680 bi-weekly (exempt, salaried position).
TO APPLY:
Detailed information, including an online application and instructions, is available on our website at www.ghfp.net. All applications must be submitted by Thursday, April 30, 2015 at 5:00 pm eastern time.
We are proud to be an EEO/AA Employer.
