OB-GYN: Volunteer with CMMB in Kenya

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Are you an OB-GYN wanting to make a huge difference to women, children and communitiesin Kenya? Join our CMMB team in Kenya! OB-GYNs are invited to joinour community health programs to improve the health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable.

Volunteer Position: OB-GYN

Term: 3-12 Months

Locations: Mutomo, Kenya

Program Description:

CMMB - Healthier Lives Worldwide is an international, faith-based NGO providing long-term, co-operative, medical and development aid to communities affected by poverty and unequal access to healthcare. Focusing on women’s and children health, our Children and Mothers Partnerships program (CHAMPS) provides effective support-and life-saving medical care-for pregnant women and newborns in eight communities across Haiti, Kenya, Peru, South Sudan, and Zambia. With a commitment to dignity and sustainability, we work at both the community and clinical levels in these targeted communities to strengthen health services and address the leading causes of maternal and child death.

CMMB’s Volunteer Program addresses the critical need for professionals in areas that lack sufficient resources for quality preventive and curative health services. For over a century, our Volunteer Program has placed thousands of practitioners around the world to help develop and implement community health interventions, work at local hospitals and health facilities, conduct clinical training for host country counterparts, and deliver essential medicines and supplies. The ultimate goal of CMMB's Volunteer Program is to support our country teams and local healthcare workers by sending volunteers that are dedicated to strengthening local health systems and supporting a pattern of sustainable development.

CMMB in Kenya:

Nairobi‐based CMMB Kenya possesses a strong track record of strengthening health systems and providing quality HIV prevention, care, treatment, and support services. CMMB Kenya’s experience in managing U.S. government and private health awards dates back to 2003.

CMMB Kenya programs have built the capacity of local healthcare organizations to tackle not only HIV/AIDS but also other national health challenges. CMMB Kenya has a reputation for locally managed, high-quality HIV care and treatment, with low loss-to-follow-up and low mortality rates among clients. Program areas include HIV prevention, including prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV - with support from mentor mothers, and voluntary medical male circumcision, as well as HIV counseling and testing, screening for sexually transmitted infections, and behavior change communication. We also help build human resources for health and work to strengthen Kenyan health systems via direct assistance on health management information systems, finance, administration, and technical training for staff.

CMMB’s Children’s and Mothers Partnerships (CHAMPS) initiative works to improve the health of women and children and, through them, their communities. CMMB’s first CHAMPS site in Kenya is in the southeast, in underprivileged Kitui South sub county. The site focuses on increasing access to healthcare services; income‐generating activities such as livestock breeding; water, sanitation, and hygiene activities; and training and retention of community health workers. CMMB collaborates with the community to engage its members and facilitate their understanding of their own health needs, and acts as a convener to mobilize resources and partners.

Placement Site: Mutomo, Kitui, Kenya

The village of Mutomois located in a semi-arid area of Kenya. Although Mutomo is only about four hours by car from Nairobi, it is a world away. Mutomo is an administrative town for the County of Kitui, which has a population of over one million people. The catchment area for Kitui-South sub-county includes a population of 190,000 people and is served by Our Lady of Lourdes, Mutomo Mission Hospital.

In Kitui South Sub-county, indicators for maternal, neonatal, and child health (MNCH) are some of the worst in Kenya. The maternal mortality ratio is 330 per 100,000 live births, and infant mortality is 47 per 1,000 live births. Sixty-one percent of households live in poverty. Access to maternal and newborn care services is inadequate, largely because of the health system’s low capacity and the long distances required to travel to health facilities (HF).

The Mutomo Mission Hospital was founded by the nursing sisters of the Irish Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy in 1964 and has continued to offer quality services in the face of intimidating challenges in staff retention and sustainability. Mutomo Hospital is the only level 4 health facility in Kitui-South and is the referral hospital for 48 Sub-County health facilities. The hospital is well-equipped with out-patient services and an in-patient capacity of over 125 patients. It has the only operating theater and equipped dental unit in the Sub-County and is the only facility offering comprehensive care in a radius of over 70 kilometers. Current functionalities include medical, surgical, pediatric, OB/GYN, and MCH services. The hospital also houses a special area caring for patients with HIV/AIDS and TB. Diagnostic services include a wide range of lab tests, plain X-Ray services, and simple ultrasound scans.

Learn more:http://mutomohospital.or.ke/ , https://cmmb.org/country-office/kenya/

Position Summary:

OB-GYNs will support CMMB’s mission by working with local communities’ health facilities to provide expertise, capacity building, and education to local staff. As an OB-GYN, you will test, treat, diagnose, and monitor disorders and illnesses related to women's health and their reproductive systems. You will perform exams and procedures, counsel patients during prenatal, natal and postnatal periods. You will ensure each case is handled with proper ethical standards and practices.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Volunteers work directly with hospital leadership and clinical staff on health service delivery, capacity building, on-the-job training and various outreach projects within the community setting
• Provide prevention of mother-to-child transmission and provide treatment to HIV-positive pregnant women
• Care for patients suffering sexual violence-related injuries
• Specialize in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases and disorders that affect women, such as breast cancer, cervical cancer and menopause. 
• Provide healthcare for women related to reproductive health; provide health care before, during and after pregnancy, and deliver babies
• Examine patients, order diagnostic tests and make diagnoses
• Collect and document patient medical histories and provide counseling on diet, hygiene, sexual health, and disease prevention.
• Monitor patients’ conditions and progress, and reevaluate treatment as necessary
• Provide primary care as needed
• Plan, implement and administer health programs in hospitals or communities for prevention and treatment of injuries or illnesses
• Operate on patients to correct deformities, repair injuries, prevent and treat diseases, or improve or restore patients’ functions.

Qualifications & Skill Requirements:

• Must be 21 years of age or over
• Relevant M.D or D.O degree required
• Current, active license to practice medicine in good standing with licensing body
• Board Certification
• Minimum 1 year of experience as an independent licensed practitioner
• Knowledge of professional and ethical standard of healthcare delivery and practice
• Capacity to administer treatment to patients while dealing with them in a sympathetic and tactful manner
• Experience working with midwives
• Able to perform caesarean sections and other surgical procedures as needed to preserve patients’ health and deliver babies safely
• Experience in emergency surgeries and with complicated deliveries
• Training in tropical medicine and/or infectious diseases (especially HIV/AIDS, TB)
• Familiarity and interest in global health issues, especially maternal and child health issues
• Familiarity and interest in public and community health or preventative medicine
• Ability to work and live with a diverse group of professionals
• Willingness to endure resource-limited working conditions and evening/weekend hours
• International experience or experience working in developing countries is preferred
• Experience as a supervisor, manager, teacher, trainer and/or any relevant leadership activities is preferred

Interested? Apply today!

Benefits & Conditions:Each international volunteer who serves 3 months or longer in the field receives a round-trip ticket to their placement site, housing, a monthly stipend, insurance coverage, storytelling and fundraising training, and the opportunity to contribute to vital community development initiatives for under-served populations while building a longstanding legacy for the community. Volunteers are required to share stories from the field and cover part of the cost of their placement through fundraising/contributions.

To Apply: Submit an application online at www.cmmb.org/volunteer

Contact:Email:volunteer@cmmb.orgPhone: 212-242-7757