Consultancy: System Strengthening, Digital Health, Unique IDs and Identity Management

The HIV/AIDS section, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office is seeking an individual consultant to facilitate sustainable adoption of digital technology for system strengthening including Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This will foster better use of data that forms the basis of ICT in countries and expand regional partnership with WHO, Asian Development Bank, the Asia eHealth Information Network, World Bank and other partners, including the private sector.

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Background:

In many countries health records are still kept in manual registries and logbooks managed by different departments or community based service providers. This often results in duplication, over-reporting or under-reporting. It spawns an urgent need to adopt and engineer digital solutions to strengthen and unite disparate data systems.

Since 2009, UNICEF EAPRO has been identifying new opportunities and approaches to strengthen systems and leverage digital health to reach more women and children.  The initial work led to a greater technical and advisory role to governments in partnership with WHO, ADB and other development partners, leveraging the Asia eHealth Information Network, a consortium of experts and senior officials, to fast track digitization of health management information systems (HMIS) and civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS). 

Also, the SDGs span multiple targets that impact children.  Ultimately we must clearly identify how the multitude of targets are linked to different aspects of national programmes that require strengthening. 

They fundamentally converge around person centric data collection that bolsters the ability to uniquely identify every person and provides better health services, at the point of care. 

Underpinning this systemic intervention is the understanding that a child's right to health, education and protection is dependent on the right to an identity. Ensuring that children are securely traceable through possession of a unique ID that gives them access to services and subsidies, and enables various national/sub-national systems to recognize and support them. This requires interventions across many sectors.

Further, the Asia eHealth Information Network has been shaping the digital health landscape for developing countries in Asia-Pacific and beyond, since 2011.  (aehin.org)

And beginning in 2015, the idea of of Health Information System and Civil Registration and Vital Statistics country led "convergence" workshops started taking shape to better guide country implementation and unify development partner support.   Recently a Mind the GAPS - Governance Architecture, Program Management & Standards & Interoperability framework has been adopted to enhance and target the country led convergence approach.

The country led convergence workshops have been invaluable in moving digital health forward in countries - drawing on lessons learned, etc.  surrounding some of the more universal opportunities and challenges of implementing digital technology – especially eHealth.   

The Geography of Universal Health Coverage

Equitable access to quality health and measurement of progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) are central to the health Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 3).

The GIS Lab established under the umbrella of the Asia eHealth Information Network (AeHIN) uses the 4Ts (Training, Tooling, Testing, Teaming) approach to strengthen in-country capacity for a proper and sustainable geo-enabling of the Health Information System (HIS). This approach supports geographically based decision making and therefore a more systemic approach to  solving public health problems and implementing SDG 3.

Purpose of the Assignment:

1. Provide technical assistance and thought leadership surrounding the design and implementation of digital health and ICT for health system strengthening and UNICEF programs (e.g. immunization, MCH, HIV, including opportunities to strengthen linkages to nutrition, ECD, WASH, CRVS, child protection- birth registration, etc.)
2. Support advocacy of eHealth and CRVS investment trajectories and UNICEF engagement strategies that cut across multiple programmes to strengthen government systems and service delivery - impacting children (including UHC and the health-related, economic, and financial value-for-money (e.g. more health and protection) that arises from them)
3. Support the development of digital health “public goods”  that can fast-track the adoption of technology drawing on current reference implementations of digital solutions (e.g. Digital health investment case costing tool, Health Information Exchange distribution package, Identity Management for Health Training package, etc.)

Work Assignment and Work Schedule:

The assignment will largely involve on-going advisory, donor and partners dialogues and technical support tasks to strengthen HIS/CRVS and identity management. Not all key deliverables carry specific dates or timelines, while country requests for technical support will be an on-going task. The deliverables listed below are therefore based on a broad schedule:

No. 1

Tasks: Support expansion of the regional interoperability and GIS labs with partners (WHO, AeHIN, and ADB) including the adoption of health information exchange, standards, unique identifiers and identity management policy for health purposes

• • Completion of OpenHIE code base
  • Immunization registry deployment kit
  • Identity Management Training Package including governance mechanisms, and policy/capacity building requirements for security and privacy

Schedule:  Sept. 2017 – May 2018 On-going

No. 2

Tasks:  Promote strategic planning, budgeting and domestic spending for health and Health IT involving all key stakeholders in the context of larger health system strengthening and UHC

Schedule:  Sept. 2017 – May 2018 On-going

No. 3

Tasks:  Advise EAPRO and country offices on technical feasibility and potential option for harnessing digital technology for programme developments in alignment with

• UNICEF Data for Children Strategy
• UNICEF Health and Health System Strengthening (HSS) Strategies
• Regional Headline Results
• AeHIN Mind the GAPS Framework – Governance, Architecture, Program Management, Standards and Interoperability 

Schedule: Sept. 2017 – May 2018 On-going

No. 4

Tasks:  Participate in relevant country, regional and global consultations, workshops, and forums

Schedule:  Sept. 2017 – May 2018 On-going

End Product(s):

1. Report summarizing key issues related to system strengthening, digital health, unique IDs and identity management including recommendations on pathways for UNCIEF country offices to address the issues including leveraging the resources of the regional Interoperability and GIS Labs.  Report should be written in user friendly language with limited technical jargon and acronymns (1^st quarter 2018);
2. Identity Management Training Package, (in collaboration with WHO, ADB and AeHIN - (2^nd quarter 2018);
3. Digital health Investment Case Paper, why and how to develop a investment case for digital health (collaboration with ADB) 4^th quarter 2017;
4. Digital Health Investment case(s) for select countries with costs vs. benefits specifying measurable gains that could be made by adopting ICT for the roll-out and/or implementation of Unique IDs (dependent on stakeholder involvement) (2^nd quarter 2018);
5. Context specific power point presentations on system strengthening, digital health, identity management as required for country, regional and global consultations, workshops, and forums.

Estimated Duration of Contract:  9 months between September 2017 – May 2018

Official Travel: Travel to a select number of countries in Asia-Pacific, including participation in regional and/or global forums. Travel will include follow-up “convergence” workshops to a select number of countries, in coordination with other EAPRO sections, country offices, WHO, AeHIN, ADB and UNICEF HQ.   Notional missions to Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Manila have been identified to date. 

Qualifications or Specialized Knowledge/Experience Required:

• University degree in digital health, health informatics, system architecture, engineering, science, information technology or related field;
• 20 years of experience in computer science, information technology, business process re-engineering, application development and/or related areas;
• Experiences in development of digital strategies for governments, and the adaptation of ICT to improve operational efficiency, knowledge of ICT total cost of ownership, different types of applications and systems as well as web-based approaches, are highly desirable;
• Proven track record in using technology to drive change, promote interoperability and collaboration between key stakeholders;
• Ability to analyze government policies, standard operating procedures and assess ways to pursue more direct processes for better efficiency and results;
• Excellent command of the English language with proven technical writing ability;
• Previous experience with the development arena;
• Familiarity with the Asia-Pacific context and experience in similar assignment.

Interested candidates are requested to submit CV or P-11, full contact information of minimum 2 references, availability, proposed monthly professional fee and all-inclusive travel cost to/from Bangkok in USD by 18 August 2017. Please note the air tickets under UNICEF contract shall be re-routable, refundable type (economy class and most direct route). The consultant will be responsible for own travel insurance, visa fee and terminal expenses.

 FORM P11.doc

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Only short listed candidates will be notified.