Consultant: Community, Rights and Gender Consultant for Tuberculosis (TB) among Migrants in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region At International Organization for Migration

Context:

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world’s most pressing health challenges, with nearly 1.5 million deaths occurring each year. It is estimated that approximately one third of new cases are missed by the health system and occur in populations which are most vulnerable to TB, including migrants, internally displaced persons (IDP), refugees, and other vulnerable populations. Migrants in the GMS are a key high-risk group facing serious difficulties in accessing health care as a result of their migrant status. Funded by the Global Fund to Fight, AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, with IOM Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific as Principle Recipient, the ‘’TEAM2’’ (Tuberculosis Elimination Among Migrants) project spans across 5 GMS countries (Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam) with the overall aim of reducing the burden of TB among the migrant populations of the GMS sub-Region – particularly aiming at the missing cases – and thereby reduce TB transmission, incidence and mortality among each of the GMS countries.

Promoting and protecting human rights and gender equality are required to accelerate the end of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, and a rights-based and gender-responsive approach to TB/communicable disease response across all countries will be critical to ensure more effective programming, alongside addressing stigma and discrimination in the longer-term. Gender- and human rights-related risk of TB transmission and barriers to TB services should thoroughly considered to support the proper implementation of the TEAM2 multi-country project.

In light of this, IOM is seeking to engage a community rights and gender (CRG) consultant to support this element of the project, and help assess and review potential areas for further research of CRG and stigma and discrimination issues to be integrated into the project and future interventions. This will be done through facilitating a desk review in line with pre-existing literature on the topic, and creation of a summary report and repository of relevant target materials; whilst considering the nuances of TEAM2 programming and its target beneficiaries.

Under the overall supervision of the Regional Health Advisor in IOM’s Regional Office (RO) for Asia and the Pacific, the successful candidate will contribute to the project by facilitating a literature review, analysis and production of a report of relevant existing documentation to contribute to improved understanding of community rights and gender, and stigma and discrimination in the GMS in the context of communicable disease control (with a focus on TB) and migration. Whilst focusing on TB and migrants and mobile populations, this research and review should also support research on CRG in the context of other key diseases (e.g. HIV/AIDS, malaria and COVID-19 where appropriate), and help facilitate the eventual development of operational recommendations regarding TB, rights and gender for migrants in the GMS, provide advice and recommendations to country coordination mechanism, national programs, or partners on the inclusion of migrants within future plans.

Core Functions / Responsibilities:

1. Identify, compile and cross-analyze previous specific community rights and gender (CRG)/stigma and discrimination (S+D) assessments and their findings.
2. Review key related literature and resources not directly related to Global Fund grants or National TB Programs to build on the existing literature base.
   • This could include literature and action plans relevant for migrants, including for TB, HIV and Malaria (and COVID-19).
   • This can also include analysis of assessments and action plans that whilst may not specifically be for migrants, the findings and recommendations of which can be useful for national programs and implementing partners in destination or origin countries.
3. Based on the review, produce a summary report identifying areas of particular relevance/key findings, and assess how TB (++) policy related to migrants and mobile populations could benefit from an enhanced CRG approach, also accounting for S+D activities at the country level, and how this could be applied regionally.
4. Support the collation of a repository of the literature and assessments regarding CRG and S+D among migrants and mobile populations in the GMS. This repository will be published on the TEAM2 website and link to other relevant literature bases to provide a ‘one-stop-shop for stakeholders in accessing existing information on CRG and S+D for migrants in the GMS.