Associate PHC Financing, Health Systems Strengthening

The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to our mission of saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries. We work at the invitation of governments to support them and the private sector to create and sustain high-quality health systems.

CHAI was founded in 2002 in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with the goal of dramatically reducing the price of life-saving drugs and increasing access to these medicines in the countries with the highest burden of the disease. Over the following two decades, CHAI has expanded its focus. Today, along with HIV, we work in conjunction with our partners to prevent and treat infectious diseases such as COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. Our work has also expanded into cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and other non-communicable diseases, and we work to accelerate the rollout of lifesaving vaccines, reduce maternal and child mortality, combat chronic malnutrition, and increase access to assistive technology. We are investing in horizontal approaches to strengthen health systems through programs in human resources for health, digital health, and health financing. With each new and innovative program, our strategy is grounded in maximizing sustainable impact at scale, ensuring that governments lead the solutions, that programs are designed to scale nationally, and learnings are shared globally.

At CHAI, our people are our greatest asset, and none of this work would be possible without their talent, time, dedication and passion for our mission and values. We are a highly diverse team of enthusiastic individuals across 40 countries with a broad range of skill sets and life experiences. CHAI is deeply grounded in the countries we work in, with the majority of our staff based in program countries. Learn more about our exciting work: http://www.clintonhealthaccess.org

CHAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and is committed to providing an environment of fairness, and mutual respect where all applicants have access to equal employment opportunities. CHAI values diversity and inclusion, and recognizes that our mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people with diverse experience, backgrounds, and culture.

Program and Country Overview

Nigeria is the second largest contributor of maternal and newborn mortality globally, with 512 maternal deaths per 100,000 births. Most maternal and neonatal deaths are caused by a small number of preventable and/or treatable conditions that can be addressed at the primary care level. Efforts to improve service coverage through increased spending have been largely unsuccessful and key coverage statistics have remained relatively constant. The Nigerian government has demonstrated its commitment to ensuring universal health coverage (UHC) in the State through the improvement of primary health care (PHC). The country’s second and overarching 5-year National Health Strategic Development Plan (2018-2022) sets priorities for the national health system. The National Health Act (2014) provides a framework for the delivery, financing, and standards of the National Health System. This Act birthed the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) - a demand and supply financing mechanism that aims to provide a basic package of SRMNCH services to the rural poor that is currently being operationalized across the country.

Recognizing the pivotal role of a robust performance management system in establishing a resilient and responsive Primary Health Care (PHC) system, CHAI, through regional grant funding from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) worked with Kano and Kaduna states to design and pilot a revamped performance management system with the end goal of systematically improving the operations, outputs (in terms of service provision – availability, quality) and resulting outcomes (in terms of population coverage, improved access, and longer term reduction in morbidity and mortality) of the PHC facilities. This work which commenced in 2021 resulted in the development of the Minimum Service Package – Monitoring Team (MSP-MT) approach in Kano and known as the Service Delivery Plan – Monitoring Team (SDP-MT) approach in Kaduna state.

In Kano and Kaduna states, CHAI supported the State Primary Healthcare Boards to set up cross-cutting internal “delivery units” that worked with the different program teams to set key performance indicators for the PHC using the NPHCDA policy on Minimum Service Package for PHCs as the gold standard. CHAI provided technical assistance to these teams to develop a process of performance reviews that entailed 1) Multi-stakeholder facility visits and data collection to identify the gaps in service provision inputs, outputs and outcomes using primary and secondary data (such as the DHIS 2 for utilization data), 2) Development of short-term facility improvement plans (with clear milestones and timelines) during the facility visits for each facility, a process led by the Facility in-charge and their health workers’ team and supported by the visiting team, and 3) regular follow up on the facility improvement plans and actions taken as defined within the plans at the different levels where necessary action are identified.

CHAI currently supports the SPHCBs in Kano and Kaduna to leverage the learnings and best practices from the MSPMT and SDPMT to develop an optimal PHC System Performance Management Framework with the aim of improving the readiness of PHC facilities to deliver high quality Basic Minimum Package of Essential Health Services. The optimized framework consists of four essential components:

This investment seeks to rapidly scale the optimized Performance management framework to cover all the Apex PHC facilities in each state, augment the use of data-driven decision-making at all levels of the healthcare system, driving systemic changes crucial for enhancing the operations, production, and delivery of essential primary healthcare (PHC) services. This will directly contribute to improved access and quality of health services available at the PHC level. This investment is designed to align with and complement the government's renewed commitment to enhancing PHC as a cornerstone for achieving UHC in Nigeria, as outlined in the BHCPF 2.0 under the current administration. By laying down a robust groundwork for transforming the PHC system, CHAI aims to create a sustainable model that not only improves health outcomes but also supports a resilient health infrastructure capable of meeting the current and future health needs of Nigeria's population. This investment will not only lead to substantial improvements in healthcare service delivery but also serve as a replicable model for other states, thus amplifying the impact across the entire country.

Position Overview

CHAI is seeking a Program Associate with relevant experience in primary health care delivery and performance optimization to support CHAI Nigeria’s expanding primary health care performance management work in Kaduna and Kano and coordinate a dynamic team with diverse backgrounds.

This is a challenging, fast-paced and rewarding position. The Program Associate will report to CHAI’s Senior Program Manager PHC Financing and contribute to building out new areas of work for CHAI in response to government requests. He or she will work with key government stakeholders to develop plans and proposals, engage donors, and mobilize resources, operationalize plans and conduct monitoring and evaluation. He or she will be responsible for documenting and sharing learnings with other CHAI Nigeria teams, CHAI’s global health financing and health workforce teams, as well as in-country partners.

Responsibilities

Any other responsibilities as directed by the Senior Program Manager, Program Director and Country Director

Qualifications

Travel: 20% within project states

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