Clinton Health Access Initiative - Analyst - Insights - Routine Immunization Access

Overview :

The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries, while strengthening the capabilities of governments and the private sector in those countries to create and sustain high-quality health systems that can succeed without our assistance. For more information, please visit: http://www.clintonhealthaccess.org

Background :

Through the prioritized implementation of high impact public health interventions like immunization, access to safe drinking water, improved neo-natal and infant care and access to effective treatment for pneumonia and diarrhea, India has reduced its infant mortality rate (IMR) from 89 in 1990 to 32 in 2017 and Under-five Mortality Rate (U5MR) from 126 in 1990 to 39 in 2017[1]. India's Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) is one of the largest public immunization programmes in the world. It caters to 26 million infants and 30 million pregnant women annually through 9 million planned sessions. The programme provides access to vaccines against 11 Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPDs)[2] at the national level and against two VPDs vaccines at the sub-national level[3].

Under the strong leadership of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and state governments, the entire immunization ecosystem has demonstrated proactive commitment for achieving universal immunization coverage in the country in recent years. Strategic projects in this direction include but are not limited to introduction of new vaccines[4], rolling out of data systems[5], strengthening of national immunization centres such as Immunization Technical Support Unit (ITSU) and National Cold Chain & Vaccines Management Resource Centre (NCCVMRC) and successful piloting of initiatives for bolstering health worker capacity building[6]. Coupled with these initiatives, MoHFW launched Mission Indradhanush (MI) in 2014 and Intensified Mission Indradhanush (iMI) in 2017: catch up and system strengthening campaigns to target underserved, vulnerable, resistant, and inaccessible populations. iMI has resulted in an increase of 6.7% in full immunization coverage (FIC) after the first two phases in prioritized districts[7]. However, the government and partners recognize the need for further efforts in this direction to reduce the 802,000 infant deaths and 989,000 under-five deaths that occur annually in the country[8].

Bihar, the third most populous state of the country, contributes to about 11% (2.9 million) of India's annual birth cohort of 26 million children. Government of Bihar has shown great commitment for increasing immunization coverage, wherein the immunization coverage (FIC) has almost doubled to 61.1% (NFHS) in 2015-16 from 2005-06. Additionally, recent surveys post targeted catch up campaigns like Mission Indradhanush (MI) and Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) show an average increase of 15 percentage points in immunization coverage across Bihar's 16 IMI districts from 56.5% in 2015-16 (NFHS) to 71.8% in 2018. Over the years, inequities in immunization coverage across socio-economic groups in the state have reduced, but are still high. Government of Bihar (GoB) aims to achieve 90% full immunization coverage (FIC) across the state, sustain the coverage across age group cohorts and strengthen health systems for improving long term immunization outcomes.

[1] Unicef on behalf of UN IGME (2018). Level and Trends in Child Mortality Report 2018 Estimates developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. New York

[2] diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, rubella, severe form of childhood tuberculosis, rotavirus diarrhoea, hepatitis B, meningitis and pneumonia (caused by hemophilus influenza type B)

[3] pneumococcal pneumonia and Japanese Encephalitis

[4] Rotavirus Vaccine, Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, Measles Rubella vaccine, Injectable Polio Vaccine, Tetanus Diphtheria vaccine

[5] electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN), National Cold Chain Management Information System (NCCMIS), ANM Online (ANMOL), Surveillance and Action for Events Following Vaccination (SAFE-VAC)

[6] Rapid Immunzations Skills Enhancement (RISE)

[7] Gurnani et al (2018). Improving vaccination coverage in India: lessons from Intensified Mission Indradhanush, a cross-sectoral systems strengthening strategy. BMJ 2018; 363; k4782

[8] Ibid

Program Overview

CHAI in partnership with its India affliliate, William J. Clinton Foundation's (WJCF) immunization program supports the MoHFW's UIP at the national level and in the focus states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The programme provides catalytic support to NCCVMRC, based out of National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), on national projects for improving availability and efficacy of vaccines and efficiency of vaccines systems. The programme also supports national and state governments on broader operational aspects such as planning, capacity building and systems improvements for immunization service delivery.

In Bihar, the programme will provide catalytic support to GoB for achieving and sustaining 90% FIC. The programme will help in setting up effective program management & review mechanisms, identifying pressing challenges as well as best practices in RI, enhancing impact of well performing interventions, developing & deploying effective solutions to pressing challenges and undertaking multi-year planning for long term immunization systems strengthening.

Role Overview

We seek a highly motivated individual with outstanding credentials and demonstrated analytical abilities for the role of Insights Analyst. The Analyst will report to the State Team Lead of the Bihar Immunization programme. The Analyst would be required to assimilate a variety of data points that include the various centralized databases that exist such as the Health Management Information System (HMIS), Reproductive Child Health (RCH) portal, eVIN, NCCMIS to name few that are operational within the Immunization ecosystem. The Analyst would bring all the data sets together and scientifically represent insights to enable informed decision making. The Analyst would play a key role in developing and socializing easy to use automated tools and templates, aimed at making immunization service delivery & program management more effective. The ideal candidate should have strong problem solving and communication abilities, be able to work independently, be flexible, and have a strong commitment to excellence. We place great value on relevant personal qualities: resourcefulness, responsibility, tenacity, independence, energy, and work ethic.

Responsibilities :

1. Develop and socialize dashboards, and pre-defined and custom defined reports for state and sub-state functionaries to utilize for routine program planning, decision making, monitoring and management

2. Contribute to state's immunization program strategy by developing tools and planning aids that help diagnose and conceptualize multi-year plans for coverage improvement and system strengthening of components such as HR, vaccine and commodity logistics, service delivery, data systems etc.

3. Support GoB led strengthening of immunization review meetings across the state through creation and dissemination of effective tracking, capacity building and action planning mechanisms

4. Innovate new approaches for generating immunization program insights including but not limited to predictive modelling, clustering techniques and machine learning

Support capacity building of key government functionaries on relevant competencies for sustained ownership and delivery

5. Travel on short notice to various parts of the state

6. Undertake any other duties as requested by the supervisor

Qualifications :

1. Master's/Bachelor's degree in management, economics, engineering, computer science, statistics, operations research economics or allied areas

2. 3+ years' of relevant work experience in consulting, investment banking, pharma or insurance analytics

3. Prior project management experience for medium/large scale analytics related projects preferred

4. Prior experience in advanced analytics, predictive modelling, big data, machine learning & related fields

5. Excellent analytical (qualitative and quantitative) and communication (written and verbal) skills

6. Proven track record of working in challenging multi-stakeholder environments & ability to build relationships with a range of stakeholders and drive immediate results

7. Entrepreneurial mind-set, including ability to work independently, self-motivate, and propose and implement new initiatives

8. Ability to think strategically, handle ambiguity, and problem solve in a fast-paced, limited-structure

9. High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint and Word

Fluency in English & Hindi

Preferred

1. Experience of developing multi-faceted tools and aids in a public-sector context

2. Proficiency in analytical tools such as Tableau, Power BI, Databricks, etc.

3. Strong understanding of public health/immunization context