Project Description

At the request of the Togolese Ministry of Health (MoH), the Community Health Education and System Strengthening (CHESS) project was developed to assist the MoH and its partners in supporting the improvement of community health outcomes through Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) activities in rural communities.

Community Health Educators will work closely with the following community counterparts:
• Nurse
• Midwife
• Public sanitation agent
• Community Health Workers/Community relays

CHESS Program Goal: Improving community health outcomes through HSS activities in rural communities.

The CHESS Program has three primary objectives:
1. Maternal and Newborn Health
2. Community Health Education and Linkage
3. Health Worker Capacity Building

Based on the above listed objectives, the following are some of the CHESS core Logical Project Framework (LPF) activities which all Community Health Educator Volunteers are expected to implement under normal operation:

• Co-facilitate a series of home visits to households with pregnant women and/or lactating women to promote essential practices that contribute to a healthy pregnancy and newborn.
• Identify community partners’ resources available to address the malaria treatment and prevention with the help of counterparts.
• Refer community members to identified organizational resources available to address the malaria and hygiene and sanitation burden in the community with the help of counterparts.
• Co-facilitate a workshop (or series of workshops) to improve CHW skills in:
 Respectful care practices
 Technical knowledge
 Monitoring & evaluation
 Behavior change communication
Additionally provide formal and informal one-on-one and small group coaching of clinic personnel to improve their skills in:
 Respectful care practices
 Monitoring & evaluation
 Behavior change communication
• Co-facilitate a workshop (or series of workshops) with community members on patient empowerment practices.

Note: Due to COVID-19, to ensure the safety and security of all Community Health Educator Volunteers while working in communities, the above activities have been revised to align with COVID-19 mitigation measures. All Volunteers must adhere to COVID-19 policies prescribe by Post and Peace Corps headquarters: See these COVID Specific activities bellow:

• Provide culturally appropriate health education and risk mitigation measures on topics related to COVID-19
• Provide information in an understanding manner using different communication platforms to reach individuals with low health literacy (e.g. animated materials that explain the virus, the disease, its transmission and protective measures)
• Provide one on one coaching to community health workers on monitoring and evaluation best practices and health information collection

Peace Corps Togo is proud of the strong monitoring, reporting, and evaluation culture it has developed in recent years, which enables Volunteers, their communities, and our partners to measure the impact of Peace Corps interventions and inform the decisions that influence the direction of future work. Volunteers are expected to report, both within their sector and across all three Peace Corps Togo sectors, on these efforts and their impact. Building on Peace Corps Togo strong MRE cultures, CHESS Volunteers will identify and focus their efforts on a select number of families (usually 8-12) depending on the size of the community to conduct weekly home visits.

Gender awareness and empowerment is a cross-sectoral activity for all Peace Corps Togo Volunteers, who look for ways to work with community members to promote gender-equitable norms. Volunteers will receive training on gender challenges in their community and will have the opportunity to implement gender-related activities that are contextually and culturally appropriate once they are adequately integrated into their community.

COVID-19 Volunteer Activities

As a Volunteer, you will be trained in how to best protect yourself from COVID-19 exposure and understand the impact of and steps to reduce stigma related to COVID-19. You may also have the opportunity to engage with your community on implementing or enhancing COVID-19 mitigation activities, such as COVID-19 prevention and risk reduction strategies including social distancing, hand washing, mask wearing, addressing myths and misconceptions related to these practices, and vaccine hesitancy. Activities will be tailored to address the COVID-19 circumstances in the communities where you will serve.

Required Skills

Competitive candidates will have one or more of the following criteria:
• Master of Public Health degree or Master of Arts/Master of Science degree in Public Health
• Certified Physician Assistant or Public Health Nurse with expressed interest in public/community health
• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition, Health, or Nursing

Desired Skills

The strongest candidates will have the following qualifications:
• Experience working or volunteering with health organizations
• Experience in health education and/or behavior change communication
• Expressed interest in working with families on health interventions related to maternal and child health and health systems strengthening
• Facilitation and/or public speaking skills
• Knowledge of health promotion, community engagement, and dissemination of health information to diverse audience
• Knowledge of Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation (MRE) tools
• Expressed interest in linking communities to local, national and international health organizations for greater access and understanding of available health services/resources
• Expressed interest in capacity building with health clinic personnel
• Expressed interest in training, mentoring and coaching community health workers (CHWs), Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), and Nurses

Required Language Skills

There are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position.

Experience with or knowledge of a Romance language is preferred but not required.

Living Conditions

Most Volunteers live in two-to-three-room houses within a family compound. Living within a shared compound affords Volunteers a valuable opportunity to truly observe and be a part of the culture, enjoy the benefits and security of communal living, and learn the language of their host community. Many Volunteers do not have electricity in their homes. Access to cooking gas is usually consistent, but there may be times when it is necessary to cook on a charcoal stove. Water sources in communities could be traditional wells, a pump, and/or cisterns. Volunteers will be given a water filter and training on how to properly treat drinking water.

Diet will consist of locally grown foods or a combination of local & (usually imported) preserved foods. A typical Togolese meal is corn ‘pâte’ (paste), with a spicy/hot sauce. Meat is available throughout Togo, as is dried fish, but fresh fish is only available in larger towns. Fruits and vegetables are seasonal, limiting the diversity of a vegetarian diet at times of the year. However, tofu (soy) is available throughout the country.

Distance between communities & regional capitals vary, but can be as far as 60 kilometers. Some Volunteers bike the shorter distances. Volunteers will be provided funds to purchase a bicycle to facilitate work & enable them to have greater access to nearby communities. Per Peace Corps COVID-19 transportation policy, Volunteers are prohibited to ride as a passenger on the back of a motorcycle taxi or use local public transportation (bush taxi). The COVID-19 transportation policy will remain in effect until further notice. Volunteers will be notified when changes to the policy occurs.

Volunteers are encouraged to rent their own mail box at their local post office in order to receive mail. Regional capitals and some larger towns in Togo have internet connections (often very slow and/or unreliable). PC Togo currently maintains one workstation with internet connection for Volunteers in each of the maritime and plateau regions. Volunteers will have access to internet at least once a month when they travel to their regional capital to do banking and buy necessary food items.
Volunteers are strongly encouraged to bring a laptop, which enables them to complete and save required assignments off-line. For those who arrive without a laptop, Peace Corps will provide funds sufficient to purchase a simple tablet device. Peace Corps Togo will also provide Volunteers with a SIM card & funds with which they may purchase a simple cell phone. Many Volunteers decide to bring unlocked dual-SIM smart-phones to keep in contact with fellow Volunteers & friends/family in the States.

Dress, appearance, and cleanliness are of great importance in the West African concept of professionalism. Volunteers are required to dress appropriately, professionally, and respectfully once posted to their assigned communities as well as during Pre-Service Training (PST). Dressing in an inappropriate manner can diminish the respect community members have for Volunteers & can make their work more challenging. For classrooms & meetings closed-toed shoes, trousers, short & long sleeve collared shirts are appropriate for men. For women, closed-toed shoes, skirts that cover the top of the knees when seated, & dresses & blouses that cover the shoulders are appropriate.

Peace Corps Togo provides support to a diverse group of Volunteers. Togo has some restrictive laws that target certain sexual acts. Volunteers will need to be mindful of cultural norms and country-specific laws and use their best judgment to determine how to approach topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity in their communities. Due to safety and security concerns, LGBTQI+ Volunteers are generally advised not to serve openly in this country. We recognize the challenges that having to “hide” may cause for an LGBTQI+ Volunteer; thus, we are committed as Peace Corps staff to support LGBTQI+ Volunteers amidst these challenges.

Serving in Togo

Learn more about the Volunteer experience in Togo: Get detailed information on culture, communications, housing, health, and safety -- including health and crime statistics -- in order to make a well-informed decision about serving.

Medical Considerations

Before you apply, please review Medical Information for Applicants to learn about the medical clearance process.

---

Does this sound like the position for you?
Get started on your journey.

Apply Now