Access Campaign Vaccines Intern (Summer 2020)
Company
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international humanitarian organization that provides medical care to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from health care in over 70 countries.
We welcome candidates who bring a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences to join us in working toward MSF’s common mission.
Department
Too often, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) cannot treat patients because medicines are too expensive, non-existent, or unavailable . Sometimes, the only drugs we have are highly toxic or ineffective, and nobody is looking for a better cure. In response to the need for better treatments, vaccines and diagnostic tests, MSF set up its Access Campaign in 1999 to improve care for patients.
The aims of MSF's Access Campaign are to:
• Push for price cuts to medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic tests by stimulating the production of more affordable generic products.
• Act as a watchdog to ensure that the corporate interests don’t win out over public health needs.
• Steer the direction of medical research toward urgently needed new drugs, vaccines, and tests that don’t exist yet or are not tailored to the needs of people in developing countries.
• Scope out, support, and monitor new models to fund medical research that respond to medical rather than corporate needs, and do not rely on charging sky high prices for the final product to pay for the research.
To support our operations in the field, the Access Campaign undertakes research and advocacy to raise the importance of the issue of access to essential medicines internationally. The Campaign hopes to achieve sustainable solutions to reduce the price of essential medicines and stimulate medical research and development for diseases that primarily affect low-income populations. The Campaign operates within the Program Department at MSF-USA
Project
The Access Campaign Vaccines Intern will support the ongoing administrative and research activities of the Access Campaign as necessary to scale up the work on access to affordable and appropriate vaccines. This includes tracking the current issues relevant to the Access Campaign, providing research and analytical support to the Vaccines Policy Advisor of the Access Campaign, supporting the overall management of data and files, and assisting in preparation of information for advocacy and policy strategies.
Candidates should have interest in and knowledge of global public health, global health policy and funding, and the current status of vaccination programs and services in developing nations. This internship is ideal for anyone with a special interest in vaccines policy and the lack of access to essential medicines in the developing world.
Tasks
Access Campaign Vaccines Intern will be expected to perform the following tasks:
- Participate in conference calls of internal networks' working groups and assist with preparation, note taking, and dissemination of key documents
- Conduct research on vaccination technologies, strategies, and policies
- Draft summaries and reports on vaccination-related studies and documents
- Maintain a database of key literature/references
- Provide general administrative support
- Other tasks as assigned
Requirements
Applicants should have:
- Excellent writing skills
- Experience in global health advocacy and/or Masters Degree preferable
- Excellent attention to detail and proofreading ability
- An interest in medical humanitarian aid and the movement towards access to essential medicines for the most vulnerable populations
- Initiative and confidence to work independently and ask questions in a fast-paced work environment
- A working knowledge of MS Word and Excel
- Other languages, particularly French, a plus
Type
HQ
Pay Class & Contract Type
Nonexempt
Compensation
$15 per hour
Working Time (Hours Per Week)
20