Introduction
African Parks would like to develop a Mobile Health Service at Odzala-Kokoua National Park in Congo, and is, per direct, looking for the services of a French speaking volunteer medical doctor, who can assist with several tasks:
1) The selection and the training of a new Doctor at the Park’s headquarters
2) Advise on equipment for the local health post
3) Do an assessment of local health facilities
4) Do a study on the most prevalent diseases occurring in the area and advice on treatment of those diseases
5) Help with first aid training for the Park’s staff members
6) Help to build up a mobile health service which would include training of local staff and community members around the park to recognize the most prevalent diseases which are easily treatable if recognized in early stages
Background
The Odzala-Kokoua National Park Odzala-Kokoua (PNOK) is situated within the heart of the rainforest of the Congo basin and covers an area of 1,365,000 hectares. In November 2010 African Parks (AP) signed a partnership agreement with the then Ministry of Sustainable Development, Forest Economy and the Environment (MDDEFE) of the Republic of Congo for the management and financing of the Odzala-Kokoua National Park. The “Odzala-Kokoua Foundation” (OKF) is the entity which manages PNOK and which has a board of directors made up of representatives from African Parks, RAPAC (a key donor), the Government, Leadership for Conservation in Africa (LCA), and local communities. The management agreement runs for an initial term of 25 years, with an option to renew.
The outstanding conservation values of PNOK include the presence of more than 100 saline clearings and one of the largest populations of lowland gorillas and forest elephants in Central Africa. PNOK has suffered severely from poaching, especially elephant poaching and a reduction in primate numbers due to the last Ebola outbreak. In short; the Odzala that the world came to know through the National Geographic documentary – Islands in the Forestno longer exists.
PNOK counts the 39 villages with a population of about 1000 adults in the immediate vicinity of the park’s borders. Taking into account the wide periphery, there are 71 villages which seem to influence the park and its ecosystem in a direct way. Many of these people are highly dependent on natural resources from the park for subsistence purposes and income generation. While the park management is supporting hunting, fishing and gathering for subsistence purposes, the creation of alternative income generation is an important component of the park’s strategies in order to reduce pressure on the park. The urban centers closest to PNOK, Etoumbi, Kéllé, Makoua, Sembé and Ouesso, have a total population of about 45 000 habitants, and add to the anthropogenic pressure.
In order for Odzala to be a fully functioning park it is important to have the support and collaboration of local communities. They need to see the benefits of having the park and conserving the wildlife in the park. An important part of this is tourism development to create an income for the park which can be used to generate services and revenue generating activities for communities. As health problems and poor access to health facilities are a big concern to the local communities, the PNOK strives to improve health services to local people through a mobile health service.
Our needs
We are looking for a medical doctor who can help us with the following tasks:
1) The selection and the training of a new Doctor at the Park’s head quarters
2) Advise on equipment for the local health post
3) Do an assessment of local health facilities
4) Do a study on the most prevalent diseases occurring in the area and advice on treatment of those diseases
5) Help with first aid training for the Park’s staff members
6) Help to build up a mobile health service which would include training of local staff and community member around the park to recognize the most prevalent diseases which are easily treatable if recognized in early stages
We look for a volunteer doctor to support us over the coming 2 to 3 years. Time required per visit will depend on the task. In general we were hoping to find someone who could visit us every 3 to 4 months for 2 weeks with maybe a higher commitment of time at the beginning of the 3 years and then less as tasks are decreasing.
Some specific information about the Mobile Health Service Project
The idea is to set up a mobile health service which consists of basically three units, the health post at the Park’s headquarters, a mobile dispensary with a nurse which travels around the park once a month and local people trained as pharmacists. We want to start with the first two units first. The unit local pharmacies could be added later. That unit would be based on a methodology which is currently under development and will only be tested at the end of the year.
Services:
- Mobile Pharmacists: provide active basic counselling and medicine on village level with regards to the five most prevalent and easy identifiable diseases
- Travelling Nurses: Travel around the park on a monthly or two week rotation in a vehicle equipped as a dispensary. Stop in every village and provide additional health care for another set of pre-identified diseases/ health problems to the villagers. And support pharmacists in their work in terms of repetitive training and medicine supply.
- Health post: the post has a doctor and an assistant with a laboratory that can carry out some of the most important examinations and test. The doctor is responsible for the management and support of the nurses and the acquisition of the medical supplies.
Required experience for the volunteer doctor:
- Should speak French
- Experience in laboratory work
- Training experience would be recommended
- Experience administering anti-venom treatments would be highly welcomed
How to apply:
Interested doctors please contact (include a CV):
Olivia Rickenbach, Manager Community Relations and Development Odzala-Kokoua National Park
