Public Health Educator at Peace Corps in Guinea, Guinea

Do you have a passion for maternal health? Guinea’s Ministry of Health would like your support to reduce the country’s maternal and child mortality rates.

With more than 70 percent of Guinea’s population under the age of 30, young people adopt positive reproductive health practices at a low rate and face both high rates of unemployment and inequitable gender norms. Guinea seeks to strengthen maternal and child health outcomes by increasing health coverage and services.

As a Public Health Educator, you will promote the use of existing health services, strengthen the capacity of local health workers, and identify new opportunities to improve the health and well-being of community members.

Required Skills

Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in the health sector and one or more of the following criteria:

Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field
OR 5 years' professional work experience

Living Conditions

Volunteers are assigned to rural villages with limited public health interventions and a lack of maternal neo-natal care. Located in the country’s Labe, Mamou, Faranah, or Kindia regions, these villages can range in size from several hundred to a few thousand people.

Activities

Encourage the use of local healthcare facilities through community outreach activities. Support the adoption of practices that contribute to a healthy pregnancy, safe delivery, good postpartum health, and a healthy newborn. Provide training on reproductive health, hygiene and sanitation, nutrition, and malaria prevention. Digitalize community health programs through secure data collection and management.

You may also work on additional projects that meet the community’s interests and priorities, such as starting a school garden or conducting workshops on nutrition.

Training

As a Public Health Educator, you will be trained to support maternal and child health services. Peace Corps/Guinea will teach you French to help you comfortably live in and connect with the community. You will also receive language resources and learn one of the local languages: Pular, Maninka, Susu, Kissi, Kpelle, or Toma.

After 10 weeks of training, you will move to a rural village where you will increase the knowledge and skills among expecting parents, child caregivers, adolescents, and health workers.

Job Highlights

Strengthen community-level health services to positively impact generations to come. Learn French from skilled language and cross-culture facilitators. Create a life within Guinea’s vibrant culture.

Couple Sector Combinations

Each person must apply separately and must qualify for a position in either the same or a different sector than their partner.

Couple Training Conditions

Cross-sector couples will live with different host families who may reside in different communities during training. Cross-sector couples may see each other for joint-sector training days or on the weekends but neither are guaranteed.

Couple Living Conditions

Cohabitating couples are highly encouraged to present themselves as married throughout service due to cultural expectations.