UNDP Jobs

HIV is spreading faster in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States than in any other region in the world. According to the latest UNAIDS data, Eastern Europe and Central Asia remains the only region in the world where prevalence continues to climb. There are now an estimated 1.5 million people living with HIV (July 2012 – Core Epidemiology Slides, UNAIDS). The epidemic continues to target young adults of working age, with over 90 percent of new HIV cases registered in the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

Multi-drug and extensive-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR and XDR TB respectively) also represents a large health issue. According to WHO, there are currently an estimated 81,000 people with MDR and XDR TB in the region and most of them do not receive proper diagnosis and treatment. The elimination of malaria is also on the agenda in the Central Asia sub-region.

Even though many countries in the region have made notable progress in addressing health issues in the context of economic, ecological and social development, significant gaps remain to be filled, particularly in view of achieving the health related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs 4 – Reduce Child Mortality, 5 – Improve Maternal Health and 6 - Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases). 

While many of the national health systems in the region (Eastern Europe and Central Asia) are still in transition, the financing of national HIV and TB programmes (and malaria programmes in Central Asia) are funded to a large degree by external sources, mainly the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GF). Due to changes in eligibility criteria, a number of countries in the region will no longer have access to these external resources in the near future and need to develop sustainable financing strategies which take also into account the need to scale up service coverage, as well as service quality and efficiency. Together with other UNAIDS co-sponsors and stakeholders, UNDP through its regional HIV, Health and Development Practice provides support to the countries in the region to put in place the best policies, strategies and inclusive processes for the sustainable financing of national HIV, TB and malaria according to needs particularly of the most vulnerable populations.

In this context it is critical to have precise data of current expenditures by national governments and international community on HIV, TB and overall health sector in each country, to make forecasts for short and medium term perspectives, and to analysis these data in the context of available macroeconomic and human development indices and in the context of country specific health financing mechanisms with the aim of scenario development for sustainable financing strategies. This approach includes country case reviews and documentation of sustainable financing initiatives already in progress at various stages.

While the primary objective for this internship is contribute systematically to the data collection, the intern will also have the chance to participate in the analysis and development of knowledge products, for example fact sheets, policy briefs, blogs or papers fro publication.

The interested candidate will assist the HIV, Health and Development Unit at the Bratislava Regional Center in the following tasks:

• Collection of HIV, TB, malaria and health expenditure data; collection of relevant macroeconomic and human development indices data for all countries in the region (Eastern Europe and Central Asia, EECA)
• Expenditure forecasts for HIV, TB and malaria programmes based on current and projected coverage and need
• Documentation of sustainable financing initiatives in countries of the region (EECA)
• Others as required
  

• Good team worker;
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to multi-task;
• Must be able to work in a multicultural environment and be aware of political sensitivities;
• Responsible, responsive, and enthusiastic.
• Be willing to work within the framework of UNDP’s internship policies
  

Education:

• Current enrollment in a graduate degree programme (second university degree or higher) of relevance to the duties and responsibilities described above
  

Experience:

• Knowledge of HIV, health and development terminology a strong advantage;
• Must be available at least 20 hours a week for a period of at least 3 months;
• Experience in working with economic and financial data;
• Experience with public financing, health economics and health insurances an advantage
• Proficient with managing Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and data bases; proficiency with statistical software packages an advantage
• Solid writing and communications abilities;
  

Language:

• Have good English oral and written communications skills;
• Good command of Russian and other CIS languages an advantage.
  

Internships within the UN system are unpaid and subject to conditions the applicant must get familiar with prior to signing his/her internship agreement.

For application instructions and more information, please see http://europeandcis.undp.org/aboutus/show/71CB399C-F203-1EE9-B8C602C91DE01340.

Qualified candidates interested in the Internship have to be registered in online database through http://europeandcis.undp.org/tools/?event=public.internshipApplyForm, stating "Regional Sustainable Financing" as field of interest. Your application should include a cover letter and resume. Candidates not registered in the database will not be further considered.