International Consultancy - Support the Ministry of Health in the elaboration of the strategic community health plan and the indicative budget for its implementation (Guinea Bissau).

The purpose of this consultancy is to support the Ministry of Health in elaboration of 2021-2025 Strategic Plan for Community Health Program.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, health

CONTEXT:

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a Portuguese-speaking country located in West Africa.  According to the 2019 Human Development Report, Bissau-Guineans have a life expectancy at birth of 58.5 years and ranked 175 out of 187 countries and territories. The country continues to face a difficult political context and institutional fragility. The fragility of the country is also reflected in the low performance of the health system. The health system malfunction stems from low state funding (less than 8% of the state budget total expenditures), quantitative and qualitative shortage of human resources and inadequate infrastructures, and a lack of continuity of Government actions.

Guinea-Bissau indicators for child health are showing some signs of improvement, with MICS reports indicating a decrease in U5MR per 1000 live births : 223 in 2006 ; 116 in 2010 and, 89 in 2014 and 51 in 2019. Infant mortality rates over the same period have also dropped from 138 to 35 per 1000 live births. The positive trend in the reduction of child mortality observed during the last decade, has been maintained.

However, children and women continue to face multiple deprivations. Both the maternal mortality rate and the under-five mortality rate are still among the highest in the world. There has been a decline in neonatal mortality rate from 64 to 22 per 1000 live births between 1990 and 2019, but it continues to account for 43 per cent of all under five deaths. After neonatal deaths, preventable and treatable diseases, such as malaria, respiratory infections, diarrhoea and HIV/AIDS, are the main causes of morbidity and mortality in children, all of this influenced by the high rate of severe acute and chronic malnutrition. 

Access to health care is inequitable with huge differences between urban and rural, and poor and rich segments. 66 per cent of the population (PNDS III) must walk for more than an hour to reach to the closest primary health care centre.  Geographic barriers increase in certain regions of the country, namely Bafata, Gabu, Tombali and islands because of population dispersion or due to lack of means of transport and access roads.

Given the context of high maternal and U5 mortality and of precarious political situation, scaling up child survival interventions is an organizational challenge for UNICEF ; thus, reaching every mother and child in every region is fundamental to contribute to the reduction of maternal, neonatal and U5 mortality.  Despite the progress made in reducing under-five mortality, three quarters of under-five deaths are still due to a handful of preventable causes – specifically, malaria, pneumonie, diarrhoea and, new-born conditions. In addition, malnutrition is associated with about 50% of U5 death (IGME).

Health System information

In 2010, efforts to accelerate the reduction in maternal and child mortality culminated in the validation by the Government of an Operational Plan to scale up nationwide the implementation of high-impact interventions (HII) at all levels of the national health system. The plan was revised in 2012 to align it with the evolved national and international epidemiological and funding contexts. UNICEF central approach remains providing support to the Government of Guinea-Bissau in the implementation of accelerated strategies for the reduction of maternal and child mortality in this particular perspective, UNICEF provides support for the implementation of POPEN at community level by training, retaining community human resources for health to promote 16 Key Family Practices (KFP) including integrated community case management (iCCM).

In 2015, Guinea-Bissau adopted a strategic plan for community Health (2016 -2020) including iCCM for three main diseases (Diarrhea, Pneumonie and Malaria) responsible for deaths among children under 5 years of age. The present strategic plan is being operationalized through several programs, mainly the EU-supported ‘Integrated Program for the Reduction of Maternal and Infant Mortality (PIMI), the World Bank project and Global found. 

The community-based interventions adopted by the Ministry of Health of Guinea-Bissau were grouped into 16 KFP, including the iCCM and divided into promotional, preventive and curative practices. They were selected based on the evidence on the impact of interventions on reducing maternal and child mortality.

The 2012 WHO / UNICEF joint statement emphasizes that Community Health Workers (CHWs) are an important source of human resources for health if they are properly trained, supervised and supported with uninterrupted supply of medicines and equipment, they can identify and treat some diseases correctly in their uncomplicated stage.

At the end of the Strategic Plan and at the end of the PIMI-2 project, which financially supported its implementation, UNICEF and Global Fund to fight Malaria, Tuberculosis and VHI supported the Ministry of Health in organizing a series of technical reflections and technical review of the strategy in order to obtain a national consensus on what should be changed in the future in the program structure. In the same perspective, UNICEF commissioned an external evaluation of the program in order to gather the necessary information for the elaboration of a new Strategic Community Health Plan that includes the iCCM.

How can you make a difference?

ACTIVITIES AND TASKS :

Under the supervision of the head of the health, nutrition and HIV section or the person authorized to do so, the consultant will perform the following tasks :

• Review of the strategic documents of the program (policy, Directive, expired Strategic plan, report of the reflection workshops and review of the community health strategy, implementation guide, preliminary report on the external evaluation of the program) and WHO guidelines on community health including iCCM.
• Consult with interested institutions : WHO, UNFPA, BM, AIFO, UNDP / GF, Plan International, General Directors of Prevention and Promotion of Health and Maternal Infant Health, Director of the Community Health Service to collect key information.
• Prepare and discuss with the supervisor the report on the document review.
• Develop the methodology and schedule of activities.
• Prepare the first draft of the PEN and the estimate cost for implementing with three scenarios (Low, Medium and High).
• Organize a workshop for discussion and technical validation of the draft PEN and implementation guide, introducing the contributions retained during the workshop.
• Carry out weekly restitution to the head of section or authorized person on the progress of the work.
• Organize the national validation workshop for the Strategic plan, implementation guide including its budget and integration of all contributions retained in the workshop.
• Submit to UNICEF the final version of the Strategic Plan and its budget, the Implementation Guide and the final report consultancy in hard copy and electronic.

DELIVERABLES, TIMEFRAME AND PAYMENT:

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

 EDUCATION

• At least a Master's degree in public health or related areas.
• Demonstrate leadership and work skills independently and in a multidisciplinary team.
• Demonstrate skills in the field of information transmission with the aim of convening each other

• WORK EXPERIENCE

• Eight (8) years of professional work experience in elaboration of strategic plan and its budget (at least 3 plans drawn up),
• Experience in workshop organizing.
• Work experience and knowledge of global, regional strategies on community health intervention and good practice.
• Ability to dialogue or negotiate with government entities and other partners to convince them to adopt certain strategies and good practices.

  LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

• Fluency in French or English is required. Knowledge and fluency in Portuguese would be an asset.

To have more details, please open the attached file: Int consultant for elaboration of CHP Strategic PLAN 2021-2025.pdf

CONDITIONS OF WORK

The contract of international consultant will be SSA, level P4. The duration of the contract is 37 days.

IMPORTANT: As a general rule, the fees payable to a consultant must follow the principle of best value (obtain the desired result at the lowest possible cost). Therefore, the candidates are required to indicate their fees for the services to be provided. To be considered, candidates must submit their financial proposals when apply.

REMUNERATION: Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

The fees will be paid upon satisfactory completion of the tasks described in the ToR and the presentation of the final report for the consultancy. DSA and ticket will be covered by UNICEF.

• The consultant will work at the UNICEF office in Guinea-Bissau and travel to the field (based on the agreed work plan) using UNICEF transport means in accordance with the Organization’s regulations.
• UNICEF will not provide the consultant with a computer for work, but he / she will use the UNICEF IT infrastructure to perform his / her work (printers, photocopiers, scanner and internet).
• Services : office space, photocopying and printing, supplies, secretarial work.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.