International Consultant - Health Impacts of Air Pollution and Climate Resilient Health Systems, WHO Country Office, Viet Nam

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Purpose of consultancy 

The consultancy will deliver high quality, policy relevant technical outputs synthesizing evidence on the health impacts of air pollution and translating it into clear, decision ready recommendations. The work will support WHO technical guidance, stakeholder coordination, and strategic communications, with alignment to climate resilient health sector priorities.

Background

Climate change poses an escalating threat to public health across the globe - particularly in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) - through rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and the spread of climate sensitive diseases and conditions such as dengue, malaria, Zika, waterborne diseases like cholera, respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses aggravated by heatwaves and air pollution, and mental health disorders associated with climate related disasters. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified climate change as the greatest threat to humanity in the 21st century, with the potential to cause 21 million deaths globally if unaddressed.
Viet Nam and other ASEAN countries face compounding risks due to high climate vulnerability, rapid urbanization, and limited capacity within public health systems to assess and manage climate related health impacts. Persistent climate health data gaps, fragmented policy frameworks, and weak health system readiness hinder timely and effective responses.
At the same time, air pollution remains one of the most significant environmental risks to health in Viet Nam, contributing to a high burden of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, premature mortality, and substantial economic losses. While policy attention to air quality has increased, major challenges remain - including incomplete monitoring networks, difficulties accessing standardized and linkable health data, limited emissions transparency, and insufficient quantification of the health and economic impacts of air pollution. Strengthening the health sector’s ability to assess, communicate, and act on air pollution related risks is essential for evidence-based policy and for protecting population health.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has prioritized both air pollution health impacts and climate health resilience in its strategic cooperation with WHO. Viet Nam is well positioned to pilot, test, and scale environment-health innovations in collaboration with other ministries and development partners. Health sector resilience - including climate resilient, low carbon healthcare facilities - is a government priority under the National Health Climate Change Adaptation Plan to 2030, the Disease Prevention Law (DPL), and the National Target Program on Health Care, Population and Development (2026–2035) as well as Green Growth Strategy in Health Sector.

Building a climate resilient health sector involves strengthening the health system’s ability to anticipate, respond to, cope with, recover from, and adapt to climate-related risks. This includes integrating climate data into surveillance systems; improving environmental and health risk assessments; enhancing early warning systems for climate sensitive diseases and air pollution episodes; investing in resilient healthcare infrastructure; and supporting healthcare facilities to adopt climate resilient, low carbon operational practices. These elements are essential to safeguarding health services and protecting vulnerable populations during climate-driven shocks and long-term environmental change.
A core objective is to strengthen climate and health data linkages, improve analytical capacity, and generate robust evidence on climate-related and environmental health risks. This includes improving modelling of current and future impacts of climate sensitive infectious diseases - potentially leveraging AI tools - while ensuring that environmental exposures such as air pollution are systematically integrated into risk assessment, surveillance, and health system planning.

This consultancy will support WHO to deliver improved quantification and communication of the health impacts of air pollution, support analytical work that strengthens the evidence base for decision-making, and provide technical inputs to national policy processes. The consultant will contribute to these deliverables by consolidating national and regional evidence, identifying data and methodological gaps, supporting project management and coordination, and preparing technical materials and inputs required for this work.
The consultant will also support WHO’s flagship stakeholder engagement activities, including preparation for the 3rd National Conference on Air Pollution - that will bring together MOH, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE), academia, provincial authorities, development partners, and civil society. This entails synthesizing evidence for presentation, coordinating technical inputs, preparing briefing materials, supporting agenda development, and helping ensure that findings are translated into actionable recommendations and commitments.
More broadly, the consultant will engage with MOH technical departments, UN partners, and other stakeholders to ensure coherence across WHO’s climate health initiatives, including the integration of air pollution evidence into longer-term climate resilient health system strategies, surveillance upgrades, and forecasting/early warning tool development. The consultant will also provide light complementary support to the climate sensitive disease components, ensuring alignment and consistency across workstreams.

Through this work, WHO will support MOH in advancing evidence-based action on air pollution and climate related health risks, strengthening the climate resilience of the health sector, and ensuring that climate linked health impacts are integrated into Viet Nam’s evolving legal and policy frameworks and national programmes.

Deliverables

Method(s) to carry out the activity

Output/s
Output 1: Inception and Work Plan for the Consultancy 
Deliverable 1: Inception Report & Workplan, by 31 October 2026
•    Detailed workplan for the assignment (Tasks 1 & 2)
•    Stakeholder and coordination plan (Task 3)
•    Initial communication alignment with C4H for technical messaging (Task 1 & 6)
•    Outline of workshop/conference support (Task 4)

Output 2: Initial Evidence Synthesis on Health Impacts of Air Pollution
Deliverable 2: Initial Technical Review – Health Impacts of Air Pollution, by 15 December 2026
•    Draft review of national/regional evidence on air pollution health impacts (Task 1)
•    Identification of data gaps and methodological limitations (Tasks 1 & 5)
•    Initial technical notes and analysis inputs for WHO/MOH (Tasks 1 & 6)

Output 3: Interim Analytical Progress Update
Deliverable 3: Interim Progress Report, by 15 January 2027
•    Summary of activities completed Oct–Dec 2026 (Tasks 2 & 6)
•    Updated mapping of partners and stakeholder inputs (Task 3)
•    Recommendations for next phase analytical work (Task 1)

Output 4: Revised Technical Review and Policy-Relevant Inputs
Deliverable 4: Revised Review & Technical Inputs, by 31 March 2027
•    Updated synthesis on air pollution health impacts incorporating feedback (Tasks 1, 3 & 6)
•    Targeted inputs linking findings to climate resilient health sector priorities (Task 5)
•    Draft materials for MOH/WHO briefings (Tasks 1 & 6)

 
Output 5: Technical Support to National and Subnational Meetings
Deliverable 5: Support to National Meetings/Conferences, by April-June 2027 (rolling)
•    Technical support for national or subnational meetings, including contributions to national meetings or conferences on air pollution (Task 4)
•    Drafted agendas, concept notes, speaker briefs, and slide decks (Tasks 4 & 6)
•    Summary notes and consolidated recommendations (Task 4)

Output 6: Communication and Knowledge Products for Policy and Public Engagement
Deliverable 6: Communication & Knowledge Products, by 30 June 2027
•    Talking points, fact sheets, and policy briefs for WHO/MOH based on analytical findings (Task 6)
•    Liaison with C4H to prepare accurate technical messaging for any media engagements (Task 1 & 6)
•    Updated slide deck(s) for partner and national use

Output 7: Consolidated Final Technical Report and Knowledge Repository
Deliverable 7: Final Consolidated Report & Repository, by 31 August 2027
•    Final consolidated report summarizing all consultancy activities, findings, and recommendations (Tasks 1–6)
•    Updated evidence repository/database of included materials (Task 6)
•    Final presentation slide deck for WHO/MOH/partners

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:   
Essential: Bachelor’s degree in public health, environmental health, environmental sciences, economics/social sciences, or a related field.

Work Experience:  
Essential:
•    A minimum of 2 years working on environmental health–related programmes, preferably in an ASEAN country.
•    Experience conducting literature reviews, evidence syntheses, or technical background analyses.
•    Experience contributing to project coordination, stakeholder engagement, or multi-partner technical work.
•    Demonstrated familiarity with public health, environmental monitoring, or climate-health issues in Viet Nam or similar LMIC contexts. 
Desirable:
•    Experience working with government agencies, UN organizations, development partners, or research institutions is an advantage.
•    Experience supporting workshops, conferences, or technical meetings is an advantage.

Skills/Knowledge: 
Essential:
•    Basic understanding of air pollution and health linkages, environmental exposures, or climate-related health risks.
•    Strong analytical skills, including the ability to synthesize complex information into clear technical products.
•    Excellent organizational and coordination skills, including meeting preparation and follow-up.
•    Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to support development of briefs, presentations, and talking points.
•    Ability to work collaboratively with government counterparts, technical agencies, and research institutions.
•    Ability to liaise with communication teams to ensure accuracy and consistency of technical messaging.

Languages and level required (Basic/Intermediate/Expert):
Essential:
Expert knowledge of English

Location

On site: WHO Country Office, Hanoi, Viet Nam

Travel

The consultant is expected to travel.

Remuneration and budget:

• Remuneration: Payband level A - USD 4,970/month at 11 months
• Living expenses: USD 2,100/month
• Expected duration of contract: 11 months (full-time)

Additional Information:

•    This vacancy notice may be used to identify candidates for other similar consultancies at the same level.
•    Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
•    A written test may be used as a form of screening.
•    If your candidature is retained for interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
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