Access HIV and Tuberulosis Policy intern (Summer 2018)

Job Posting Title 

Access HIV and Tuberculosis Policy Intern (Summer 2018) 

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. 

Project

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. The HIV and TB Access Policy Intern will support the activities of the Access Campaign as necessary to scale up efforts to improve the quality and accessibility of HIV/AIDS and TB/DR-TB services, including proper and effective diagnosis and treatment. This includes tracking the current issues relevant to the Access Campaign, providing research and analytical support to the HIV & TB Policy Advisor of the Access Campaign, providing administrative support for Access Campaign initiatives, drafting communications and advocacy materials, and coordinating and preparing material for advocacy meetings and working groups.

Candidates should have knowledge and interest in global health, including HIV and TB. This internship is ideal for anyone with a particular focus on HIV/AIDS and TB/DR-TB policy advocacy and the crisis of access to essential medicines in the developing world. 

Tasks 

HIV & TB Access Policy Intern will be expected to perform the following tasks:

• Convene conference calls of internal networks' working groups and assist with preparation, note taking, and dissemination of key documents
• Draft letters to policymakers and global health actors
• Assist the HIV Policy Advisor with collecting information and maintaining a database on essential information and relevant HIV and TB national policies
• Conduct research on current access topics, conferences, advocacy targets and related NGOs  
• Disseminate MSF advocacy related information through our network of contacts
• Track HIV and TB Access Campaign related information in the media and listserves
• Maintains a database of key literature/annotated bibliography
• Assist the HIV & TB Policy Advisor in convening internal and external meetings
• Assist with writing basic memos
• Maintain and update calendars of key global health meetings and conferences
• Provide general administrative support
• Other tasks as assigned 

Requirements 

 Applicants should have:

• Experience in HIV/AIDS or TB/DRTB advocacy and/or Masters Degree preferable
• Excellent writing skills
• A working knowledge of MS Word and Excel
• Excellent attention to detail, fastidious commitment to correct referencing, outstanding organizational skills, and proofreading ability
• An interest in medical humanitarian aid and the fight for access to essential medicines
• Background knowledge/familiarity with global health actors, US legislative processes, pharmaceutical research and development, and intellectual property/trade barriers to affordable and accessible drugs helpful
• A commitment to health and social justice
• Initiative and confidence to work independently and ask questions in a fast-paced work environment.   

Type 

HQ 

Contract Type 

Internship 

Desired Hiring Date 

29.May.2018 

Employment End Date 

24.August.2018 

Working Time % 

60,00 

How to Apply 

To apply, please send letter of interest/cover letter and resume to internships@msf.newyork.org. Submissions without cover letter will not be reviewed. 

Example: If you are applying to the IT Internship for the Spring 2018 program, then your email Subject line should be: IT Intern - Spring 2018. 

If you are applying for more than one internship position, please send an email for each position using the example above. 

Note: Preferred document submission format is PDF and Microsoft Word Document. 

Application Deadline: April 18, 2018