EPI Technician

POSITION: EPI Technician

RESPONSIBLE TO: Medical Officer

WORKING WITH: All medical staff in the facility and MOH Staff

LOCATION: Peshawar

Merlin International Profile

Merlin specialises in health, saving lives in times of crisis and helping to rebuild shattered health services. Each year, Merlin helps more than 15 million people in up to 20 countries.

Context and Background

Merlin is the UK’s leading international health charity, sending medical experts to the frontline of global emergencies and staying on to build lasting health systems. We entered Pakistan in 2005 after an earthquake in Jammu Kashmir left 75,000 dead and hundreds of thousands homeless. Since then we have expanded to provide a wide range of primary health care, malaria control, family planning, post abortion care and nutrition services to over 2.2 million people. We currently support 110 health facilities and ten hospitals, and have scaled up in times of emergency including the devastating floods of 2010 and 2011.

In Sindh, the province which was worst affected by the floods of 2010 and hit again by severe rains in 2011, Merlin is providing health and nutrition services in Dadu, Thatta and Badin. This includes treatment centres for communicable diseases like diarrhea, feeding programmes for severely and moderately malnourished children and vaccinations to protect children under the age of 5 from diseases such as polio.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, we are working in the Swat Valley, Peshawar, Buner and Nowshera districts – areas which are still confronting political instability, widespread militancy and displacement in wake of the conflict in neighboring Afghanistan. Merlin has provided emergency healthcare to internally displaced people (IDPs) in Jalozai camp since 2009, which were scaled up at the start of 2012 following an influx of IDPs from Khyber Agency. As people return to the Swat valley, we are working with government of Pakistan to strengthen the country’s health system, including training lady health workers to provide family planning advice in an effort to stem maternal mortality

In Baluchistan, Merlin is implementing a Global fund supported malaria control programme in 10 districts and now planning to expand its health and nutrition interventions into Naseerabad and Jaffarbad districts as Baluchistan has as well consistently faced a sequence of natural and manmade catastrophes. Furthermore, with GAM rates of 16.1%, Baluchistan is confronting, based upon WHO criteria, significantly high levels of child acute malnutrition.

POSITION OBJECTIVES

To provide good quality immunization services

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES, DUTIES AND TASKS

Core Responsibilities & Duties

• Conducts static vaccination sessions in BHUs as scheduled including holding outreach activities in the field
• Administers vaccines correctly in accordance with guidelines, and maintains strict aseptic techniques
• Reports and record measles cases and conduct ring immunization, mopping up and or any other supplemental immunization activities/campaigns
• Liaise closely with LHV, Healthy promoters and other staff in order to avoid missed opportunities (including screening of cards) for immunization of children and women, children to be followed up on due list and defaulter tracing. Also coordinates for proper birth recording/reporting and growth monitoring activities in the facilities with the teams.
• Maintains accurate record/chart of monitoring coverage of the target population
• Maintains accurate EPI records including daily and permanent registers, and additional records on due and defaulters (prepare and update lists on monthly basis)
• Provides counselling to the care givers on the preventive and promotive health aspects of the vaccines, vaccination schedules, when to return for the other shot of vaccine etc.
• Receives vaccines from the field office and ensures that the cold chain is correctly maintained to the point of actual immunization in accordance to standardized guidelines
• Prepares monthly statistical report, vaccine consumption/wastage rates and submits in timely manner.
• Ensures that used syringes, needles and all vaccinations vials/ampoules are stored and disposed off per protocols.

Occasional Significant Duties

• Participates in meeting with community representatives, volunteers and to discuss EPI activities such as defaulters, EPI campaigns etc.
• Help LHV in growth monitoring activities

Coordination/representation:

• Co-ordinate with health promoters on regular basis for defaulter tracing and participate in health education session
• Coordinate with the nutrition wing for the treatment of the identified malnourished children and their follow up

Performance Indicators

• Number of Field visits per schedule
• Number of defaulters traced and vaccinated

• Number of meetings attended with volunteers for propagation of prime messages
• Updated due and defaulter list available
• Number of health education sessions conducted in BHUs on immunization to the care givers.
• Number of children refer for registration in the growth monitoring program and or follow up

Person Specifications

Essential

• Secondary school certificate and certificate for participation in EPI course from recognized institution
• Minimum of two years of relevant experience
• Willing to travel and live within the hard and remote areas

Desirable:

• Knowledge of local language and in particular Pashto
• Previous experience within a humanitarian aid organisation, in particular working in primary health care programs.
• Strong counselling skills
• Good organizational skills