Research Assistance - Health Systems Strengthening and Universal Health Coverage

Details

Mission and objectives

The World Health Organization (WHO), established in 1948 is the authority responsible for public health within the United Nations system. The Organization seeks “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.” The role of a WHO country office is to respond to requests from the host country to support policy-making for sustainable health development using a holistic health system approach. This includes providing guidance, building local relationships to implement technical cooperation, making standards and agreements, and ensuring that public health measures are coordinated and in place during crises. The WHO Country Office, North Macedonia was established in January 1996 in Skopje to support the national health system with sound technical advice and expertise. The Office is the focal point for WHO activities in the country. I Priorities for joint work at the country level are set out in the biennial collaborative agreement (BCA) between WHO/Europe and the Ministry of Health. The BCA for 2016–2017 aligns with WHO’s Twelfth General Programme of Work for 2014–2019, which establishes priorities for WHO’s work and an overall direction for the 6-year period. As such, it reflects the 3 main areas of WHO reform: programmes and priorities, governance, and management.

Context

The WHO Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Partnership is an integral component of WHO's mission to ensure that everyone has access to quality healthcare without financial hardship. Through its Global and regional platforms, the UHC Partnership supports Member States in advancing towards universal health coverage by strengthening health systems and promoting equitable access to essential health services. This comprehensive approach spans from financial health protection to efficient service delivery and comprehensive health needs coverage, with a focus on building and enhancing country capacity at every stage of the health system. Within the framework of WHO's Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Partnership, the WHO Country Office is dedicated to assisting Member States, including North Macedonia, in shaping their health policies according to WHO's principles and values. This UNV assignment is an integral part of WHO's support to North Macedonia to strengthen its health system to ensure equitable access to health services for all citizens without financial hardship. At the core of these efforts lies the development of PHC, underpinned by robust health policies and governance frameworks, efficient health service delivery mechanisms, and effective financial protection measures. In alignment with these objectives, the WHO Country Office in North Macedonia is expanding its team by recruiting UNV research assistants. These assistants will play a vital role in supporting the development of country health policies and coordinating activities geared towards strengthening PHC and advancing UHC. Their responsibilities include engaging with diverse stakeholders to foster collaboration in health system strengthening efforts and ensuring that policies and interventions are based on comprehensive data and analysis.

Task description

Under the overall supervision of WHO Representative, and with technical guidance from WHO North Macedonia team for health system strengthening (HSS) and universal health coverage (UHC), the UN Volunteer will provide technical support and facilitate the activities of WHO in support of the Ministry of Health. He / she will collaborate with national partners to carry out effective HSS and UHC-related assessments, plans, and evaluation activities. In addition, the UN Volunteer is expected to work in close collaboration with other experts in the field, and other UN agencies. Specifically, he / she will be responsible for technical support in: • Conduct literature reviews and support ongoing research activities on topics related to HSS, UHC and primary health care (PHC); • Assist in analyzing policy documents, WHO reports, and international case studies to understand health system models and health policy frameworks; • Assist in summarizing key findings from literature reviews and research studies; • Compile and organize research findings into coherent reports or presentations; • Assist in preparing materials, agendas, and presentations for research-related activities; • Prepare draft reports, presentations, policy briefs or other written materials for publication or dissemination; • Support coordination of meetings, workshops, or events related to research projects; • Collaborate with team members to ensure smooth workflow and timely completion of tasks; • Perform any other task assigned by the supervisor. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.