Medical Doctor at the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) – 2 Openings

The Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) is an independent humanitarian medical NGO that was created in 2009 by professionals of humanitarian medicine. ALIMA’s mission is to provide medical care in emergency situations or medical catastrophes.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Medical Doctor

Locations: Maiduguri, Borno and Yobe
Project: North Yobe Project

ALIMA in Nigeria

• The humanitarian crisis in Nigeria’s northeast and the Lake Chad region is one of the most severe ongoing crises in the world, now entering in its ninth year and shows no sign of abating.
• In 2021, at least 8.7 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance in the worst affected states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. Up to 5.1 million people risk being critically food insecure during the next lean season (June – August 2021), a level similar to 2016-2017 when famine was looming over Borno State
• Nigeria is now facing a second wave of COVID-19 infections. Borno, Adamawa, Yobe states have recorded new cases. Aid actors are intensifying actions and prevention measures
• Despite challenges including humanitarian space reduction, aid workers had already provided around 5 million people with life-saving assistance in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states in 2020.
• Conflict, explosive remnants of war and insecurity have cut people off from their main means of livelihoods-farming and fishing. This causes major food insecurity in north-east Nigeria, which COVID-19’s effects on incomes have exacerbated: despite good crop yields, food insecurity is rising. Findings of the October2020 Cadre Harmonize (CH) analysis projected that about 5.1 million people in the three states will be food-insecure in the lean season between June and August 2021 – a 19% and 34% increase on the 2020 (after COVID-19 June CH Update) and 2019 figures respectively. According to the Nutrition and Food Security Surveillance Round 9, conducted in October 2020, the level of acute malnutrition increased in all the three states compared to 2019. Global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates of 10.7% were recorded in Borno, 7.5% in Adamawa and 13.6% in Yobe. According to the survey, several LGAs had high pockets of global acute malnutrition of above the 15% threshold (emergency phase), including Gubio, Magumeri, Mobbar and Bayo in Borno State and all LGAs in northern Yobe. Movement restrictions and insecurity continue to hamper the ability of IDPs, returnees and the host communities to access basic services, livelihoods, and land for farming and grazing. This means that more people will rely on humanitarian aid to survive in 2021.
• In 2017, ALIMA continued to implement projects in Muna Garage in Jere LGA, where ALIMA performs general consultations for children under 5 and provides Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) to pregnant and lactating women (antenatal and postnatal consultations). An Outpatient Therapeutic Feeding Program (OTP) is also available for children under 5 suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in the clinic, where women and caretakers are trained to screen their children for malnutrition using the MUAC tape.
• In Maiduguri MC, where ALIMA is working in partnership with the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), the Inpatient Therapeutic Feeding Center (ITFC) manages children under 5 suffering from SAM with medical complications in a 50-bed capacity building.
• In December 2020, ALIMA conducted a needs assessment survey in the north of Yobe where a high level of acute malnutrition was recorded by nutrition sector. The results of this survey prompted ALIMA to open a nutrition and health project covering the Kasasuwa LGA, one of the most affected LGAs and where there was a gap. This project started in May 2021 and fund by ECHO aim to support Karasuwa health facilities and improve access to nutrition and health services including pediatrics healthcare and reproductive health.
• ALIMA also support COVID-19 vaccination in Borno and Yobe with focus on most vulnerables.
• In parallel ALIMA is opening an emergency nutrition project in Katsina state and is present is Owo state since 2018 for Lassa fever response and research.

Post Typology
Management lines:

• Line Manager:
  • Medical Reference & Project Coordinator
• Line Management:
  • Nurses
  • Nutritionist
  • Assistant Nurse

Main Activities

• To supervise the overall management and ensure the smooth running of medical activities, including the supervision of nurses, nurse assistants and paramedic helpers, in order to ensure 24/7 good quality nursing care of patients admitted in ALIMA health program, in collaboration with the doctors and respecting a protocols & guidelines.

Responsibilities

•  Apply medical knowledge and skills in diagnoses and prevention of illness. Carry out outpatient and inpatient consultations, and prescribe the necessary treatment while respecting ALIMA protocols in designated duty station
• Keep the patient and/or his/her family informed about the illness and provide appropriate explanations about the treatment to follow, ensure patients/relatives have clear understanding of the available treatment options and their eventual outcomes.
•  Follow up the evolution of the hospitalized patients, through daily visits, consultations and examinations, prescribing the necessary treatment while respecting ALIMA protocols, deciding whether they can be discharged or transferred to other departments – in collaboration with other doctors- and informing their family about the patient’s evolution.
• Ensure proper documentation in the patient file including the particularly the final diagnostic at discharge that will be recorded in praxis.
•  Attend ongoing training of the medical/paramedical multidisciplinary team in order to optimize the quality of care.
• Knows and ensures all ALIMA medical protocols are followed and implemented, checking universal precautions are followed at all times and reducing bio-hazard risks and improving infection control. Ensures professional confidentiality is respected.
•  Assists or Performs Emergency Obstetric surgeries (MVA, C-section, Exploratory Laparotomy etc.) under supervision of the OBGYN and in accordance with MSF protocols. Prepares the operative notes after each intervention.
•  As assigned in the roster, conduct staff health clinics (staff and dependents), in accordance with ALIMA Nigerian staff health policy while respecting ALIMA treatment guidelines.

Reporting:

• Incident report related to nursing activities shall be registered in a special book.
• Monthly data collection for patient referrals, patient education sessions, doctor and nurse consultations, and missed appointments
• Monthly data collection on number of dressings done.

Other Activities:

• Attendance at weekly medical and project meetings
• Cover the gap of colleagues Doctors when required in the project.
• Any other task as deemed necessary by the supervisor but in line with overall job responsibilities.
• Implementation of prevention measures against abuse of power, gender-based and sexual violence:
• Ensures that his/her team, partners and community members are aware of ALIMA’s policy and have access to information (complaint escalation mechanism, focal point…).
• Facilitates the organization of training and awareness sessions.
• Implements standards related to the prevention of abuse of power, gender-based violence and sexual violence.
• Ensures that team members and partners involved in the project (Ministry of Health, national partners, etc.) follow training and awareness sessions and apply the rules for preventing abuse.
• Contributes to creating and maintaining a nurturing and protective environment for his/her team, community members and project partners.

Qualifications
Education:

• Essential – Degree in medicine (Doctor) is mandatory
• Diploma in Tropical medicine, nutrition and paediatrics will be an asset
• Essential –  2 years of experience in tropical medicine, Nutrition and inpatient healthcare setup, pediatrics and or ITFC management experience in conflict or IDPs setup

Required Skills:

• Computer literacy (Word, Excel, outlook)
• Essential – 5 yearsof experience in relevant jobs, in ALIMA or others Medical NGO’s in developing countries.
• Have at least 3 years’ practice experience in management of Nutrition, Health and Sexual Reproductive Health
• Have experience of worked in difficult/insecurity area
• Strategic vision
• Leadership
• People Management
• Planning
• Teamwork, flexible
• Knowledge of management of pharmacy
• Training skills
• Well organized and good negotiation and communication skill
• Interest in and commitment to ALIMA’s activities, enthusiasm to represent the organization to others, to travel to different regions of Nigeria

Languages:

• Fluency in English, (written and spoken) is mandatory and Kanuri, Hausa and Fulbe are assets.

Remuneration
N400,000 – N500,000 Monthly.

Application Closing Date
31st May, 2022.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Cover letter, CV, Coloured Picture, Qualifications with Contact Details (all in the same file) to: [email protected] using the Job Title as the subject of the mail.

Note

• Applications are processed in the order of arrival and we reserve the right to close the offer before the term initially indicated if a good application is successful.
• Only full applications will be taken into account.
• Only accepted applications will be contacted.
• Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Only successful applicants will be called for interview.
• No monetary transactions, neither demands of favours in kind, nor other types of favouritism will be tolerated in the recruitment process.