Senior Medical Advisor (National) – Libya 41 views0 applications

Since the launch on 6 April 2020, the Project has administered an anonymous Facebook page to disseminate posts supporting the cause. The campaign has reached over 2 million people in Libya and provoked over 850,000 positive engagements with social media posts by citizens, influencers, celebrities, media channels and civil society. Now, the Project team is seeking to link in with the Political Dialogue project at the nexus between reconciliation at the social level and institutional/political levels—UNSMIL track-two activities. These activities seek to progress the national dialogue around peace and unity to the divided institutions and professionals responsible for protecting families and communities against the impact of COVID-19.
Interventions in Libya with the purpose of achieving a political agreement and reducing polarization should look to incrementally reverse the entrenchment of parallel institutions and increase perceptions unity of the COVID-19 response and fairness of services delivered. The analysis also points to the mechanisms for this being: (a) active collaboration and planning across divides; (b) inclusion of elites in professional level agreements, in the sense of supporting delivery of the needs identified by health professionals; and (c) delivery of the services in a visible and publicly supported manner. As such, any mechanism on cross-divide collaboration should also look to establish a positive loop between the needs and capacity of health professionals, and a more evidence and medical-based approach by political elites.
Immediate Action
Urgent track-two Activities under the Political Dialogue and the National Reconciliation projects could link practical arrangements between health practitioners East, West and South, with political dialogue to deliver on agreements reached between health practitioners. The dialogue will be based the urgent response to COVID-19 and its impacts, where there are clear shared interests in collaboration between regions of Libya. If successful, such cooperation could at a later stage help drive discussions aimed to unify national public health policy and service delivery.
UNSMIL and UNDP, in close consultation with WHO, will stagger the phases of the dialogue engagement so that: (1) initial conversations focus on enabling urgent activities to respond to the COVID-19 (2) next steps include agreements on medium and long-term sustainable solutions for treatment, testing and contact tracing, including infrastructure and capacity needs; and (3) finally an expansion of the dialogue to other health sector cooperation issues.
These activities will be bolstered by conflict-sensitive public communications campaign showing credible state responses to COVID-19 with treatment testing and contact tracing and the dialogue behind it. Building on the UNSMIL/UNDP supported social media campaign #peacenowstopcorona, it should seek to emphasize that cross-divide agreements in the public interest are possible and demanded by Libyans.
Proposed Activity Outline for Activities:
Activity 1 (A1): Regular facilitated exchanges between Libyan medical professionals East, West and South using virtual systems (Zoom, Skype, Google, etc.,) building up to, during and beyond apex of infections.
Activity 2 (A2): Mediated track-two dialogues on health management of COVID-19 and its impacts, with alternating hosting arrangement between East, West and South (every 1-2 weeks).
Activity 3 (A3): Crisis-management dialogues on conflict-COVID-19 issues, with an emphasis of combatting hate narratives and protection of Health Care Workers (HCW). These activities are planned to begin after three months in stage 2, although the project team will be flexible to opportunities and needs for crisis management in the first three months.
Activity 4 (A4): Building on extensive reach into communities across Libya, working with the UNDP Stabilization Facility for Libya (SFL), implement a highly localized public communications the management of COVID-19 and its impacts. This communication will not focus on information provision on how to prevent infection (e.g. personal hygiene) but rather will look to build public support behind cooperative actions in the health sector. Media work would be through (inter alia) regular dialogues on influential TV media in both East, West and South utilising prominent community leaders (SFL partners and the National Reconciliation Project Network of Local Mediators) and medical professionals. Communication activities are planned to begin after three months in stage 2, although the project team will be flexible to opportunities and needs for crisis management in the first three months.
Activity 5 (A5): Medical-practitioner-driven joint (East, West, South) assessments into how to improve governance, accountability and transparency (Output 2 of Political Dialogue above) in the health sector, through in-depth analysis of the conflict and corruption-related blockages (including inter alia governance and transparency) to COVID-19 response against WHO’s six pillars of Health Systems. The assessments will begin after the first three months in stage 2. However, stage 1 will be used to develop a baseline assessment of the relationship between health and conflict (e.g. the impact of present dialogue on resilience to public and political divisions).
Activity 6 (A6): For maximum impact, a cross-cutting element of the activities outlined above will be Strategic Communications, in partnership with UNSMIL and UNDP Communications teams. (This could include strategic decisions not to publicize activities.) If applicable, the Project will implement a communications campaign to demonstrate credible state responses to COVID-19 and the cross-divide agreements in the public interest.

Role objectives

The main objectives of this initial assignment of the Senior Medical Advisor is to:

• Liaise with key partners, notably national healthcare professionals in the West and South, WHO, and health sector stakeholders across Libya to facilitate discussions and facilitated exchanges and dialogues for national collaboration on treatment and management of COVID-19.
• Advise UNSMIL, UNDP project teams, WHO, and dialogue participants on planning and delivery of COVID-19 management and treatment strategies, including technical discussions, equipment needs and capacity development.
• Advise UNSMIL, UNDP project teams, WHO, and dialogue participants on all other relevant public health matters related to the substance of the health dialogue discussions.

In partnership with the Health Diplomacy Senior Advisory Team, the Consultant will need to (re)establish and maintain relationships with a network of medical experts with technical, social and political credibility in Libya. As an initial step, (s)he will support the Team to assess the needs for dialogue and cooperation amongst medical professionals and administrators across conflict divides. The consultant will advise on connections and divisions and the degree of influence of each individual or group that has been identified as relevant parties for health diplomacy.
The Senior Medical Advisor will work with the UNSMIL and UNDP project teams and other consultants to initiate:

Activity 1: Regular facilitated exchanges between Libyan medical professionals East, West and South using virtual systems (Zoom, Skype, Google, etc.,) building up to, during and beyond apex of infections.

Activity 2: Mediated track-two dialogues on health management of COVID-19 and its impacts, with alternating hosting arrangement between East, West and South (every 1-2 weeks).
Activity 3: Crisis-management dialogues on conflict-COVID-19 issues, with an emphasis of combatting hate narratives and protection of Health Care Workers (HCW). These activities are planned to begin after three months in stage 2, although the project team will be flexible to opportunities and needs for crisis management in the first three months.

The Consultant will also work on an overall communications strategy for the project activities and help plan activities for Activity 4. Building on extensive reach into communities across Libya, working with the UNDP Stabilization Facility for Libya (SFL), implement a highly localized public communications the management of COVID-19 and its impacts. This communication will not focus on information provision on how to prevent infection (e.g. personal hygiene) but rather will look to build public support behind cooperative actions in the health sector. Media work would be through (inter alia) regular dialogues on influential TV media in both East, West and South utilising prominent community leaders (SFL partners and the National Reconciliation Project Network of Local Mediators) and medical professionals. Communication activities are planned to begin after three months in stage 2, although the project team will be flexible to opportunities and needs for crisis management in the first three months.
The Consultant will need to leverage a good reputation among Libyan and international medical professionals in his/her specialized field of medicine, and a well-established network of medical colleagues in all regions of Libya. (S)he must have experience in facilitating bridging the political and social divisions in Libya among medical professionals and demonstrated commitment to deploying health sector expertise to unify and reduce conflict. It is not essential that her/his expertise be in virology or epidemiology, since that specialized expertise should be available through other team members.

Project reporting

The Senior Medical Advisor will work with the Political Dialogue and National Reconciliation project teams and report to the UNSMIL Political Affairs Service National Reconciliation Project Focal Point and the UNDP National Reconciliation/Political Dialogue Project Manager for all substantive matters related to the assignment. For all administrative purposes, the Consultant will report to the UNDP National Reconciliation and Political Dialogue Project Manager.

Key competencies

• Master’s Degree or higher in public health or medicine.
• At least 15 years’ of experience in medical practice, teaching or advisory roles in medicine, including significant work in the areas of public health.
• At least 10 years’ experience working directly or indirectly with national health institutions in Libya.

Team management

This field does not require management field

Further information

Evaluation Criteria

CriteriaWeightTechnical competencesTotal: 100**Master’s Degree or higher in public health or medicine.20 Points MaximumAt least 15 years’ of experience in medical practice, teaching or advisory roles in medicine, including significant work in the areas of public health.20 Points MaximumAt least 10 years’ experience working directly or indirectly with national health institutions in Libya.

1. points Maximum

Excellent writing and presentation in Arabic and English.10 Points Maximum