Conduct of Papua New Guinea digital health maturity assessment

BACKGROUND

The WHO Papua New Guinea Country Office is supporting Papua New Guinea to accelerate progress towards the achievement of universal health coverage, and as a consequence, supporting the strengthening of national health information systems and digital health interventions.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has launched a new National Health Plan 2021-2030 (NHP), which sets the country’s policy directions, strategies, and priorities for the next ten years. A Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Strategic Plan has also been developed for the NHP, which outlines how NHP implementation will be tracked and impact measured in addition to actions to strengthen M&E and health information systems. Digital health (eHealth) is a priority in the NHP, and a critical component of the M&E Strategic Plan. The M&E Strategic Plan, for example, emphasizes the need for interoperable health information systems, data security, as well as the establishment of a data warehouse. As such, digital health (eHealth) is a critical enabler toward achieving universal health coverage and the goals of the NHP 2021-2030 and its M&E Strategic Plan.

An eHealth Strategic Plan (2017-2027) was developed under the previous National Health Plan 2011-2020, however, was not endorsed due to the lack of an overarching ICT policy. Still, significant efforts have been made to deploy and scale eHealth/digital health solutions in the country – a need that has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A “Digital Convergence in the Health Sector” Workshop was successfully held in 2019 to envision digital health futures in the health sector and develop provincial roadmaps towards achieving these futures. A national eHealth Steering Committee and Technical Working Group have also been established to convene relevant stakeholders to oversee the implementation of the Plan and advise on eHealth initiatives.

With the new NHP in place, the National Department of Health (NDoH) plans to finalize an ICT policy by Q4 2022. The ICT policy will provide standards, strategic directions, and priorities for ICT and digital health for the next 10 years.  Following the endorsement of the ICT policy, the NDoH plans to update the national eHealth or digital health strategy.

In preparation for updating the national eHealth or digital health strategy and to take stock of changes catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic and investments made in eHealth/digital health, the NDoH has decided to conduct a digital health maturity assessment. The World Health Organization will be supporting the NDoH to conduct the digital health maturity assessment.

PURPOSE/SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THE ACTIVITY

The objective of the proposed Agreement for Performance of Work (APW) is to support the Performance, Monitoring, and Research Branch (PMRB) and the Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) Unit of the National Department of Health of Papua New Guinea to conduct a digital health maturity assessment.  The focus of the assessment will be on the maturity level of the digital health enabling environment, building on recommendations from the Digital Convergence Workshop and previous assessments – such as the State of Health Information Systems and Digital Health in the Pacific which included PNG. The assessment will provide recommendations on priority interventions to improve the digital health maturity level and areas to update in the digital health or eHealth strategy.

Specific objectives

• • To assess the digital health enabling environment maturity level and determine the current and desired PNG digital health maturity levels.
• • To provide recommendations on priority interventions needed to improve the digital health maturity level focusing on services and applications and standards and interoperability to help define the enterprise architecture.
• • To provide recommendations for updating the digital health (eHealth) strategy and eHealth architecture

DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES TO BE CARRIED OUT

Under the overall guidance of the WHO Representative and the direct supervision of the Strategic Health Information Technical officer, the company/institution will conduct a digital health maturity assessment.  The contractor will prepare a digital health maturity assessment work plan with a clear timeline, assessment methodology, and assessment tools. The contractor will conduct the assessment as per the agreed, timeline, methods, and tools.  The contractor will provide an interim report and a final report summarizing the digital health enabling environment maturity and the current eHealth architecture and the eHealth environment/components/building blocks including a stocktaking of current eHealth initiatives in PNG and recommendations for updating the implementation of the eHealth Strategy for 2023-2027

METHODS TO CARRY OUT THE ACTIVITY

The company/institution will:

• • Develop the review methodology and related tools for the digital health maturity assessment.
• • Conduct a desk review of previous assessments and reports on eHealth and digital health.
• • Interview and hold discussions with relevant stakeholders. 
• • Conduct data analysis and synthesis.
• • Draft progress and final reports and PowerPoints

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION (for the team lead at the company/institution)

Essential:  University degree in health informatics, health informatics, public health or related field

EXPERIENCE

Essential: 

• • Proven experience working in eHealth/digital health, especially in government settings
• • Proven experience in supporting design and roll-out of digital health tools and platforms
• • Proven experience in developing or reviewing national eHealth/digital health strategies and/or architecture
• • Experience working in eHealth/digital health in low- and middle-income countries

Desirable: 

• • Experience working with WHO, other international organizations and/or major institutions in the field of eHealth/digital health and health information systems

TECHNICAL SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

Essential:

• • Demonstrated expertise in developing and/or assessing national e-health/digital health strategies
• • Knowledge of issues encountered with rolling digital health tools and platforms in low- and middle-income countries
• • Strong skills in project coordination as evidenced by ability in coordinating and working with different stakeholders
• • Strong communication, data analysis and report writing skills.

Desirable: 

• • Knowledge of e-health/digital health context and dynamics in low and middle-income countries

LANGUAGES

• • Excellent English written skills and spoken fluency is essential

COMPETENCIES

• • Communicating in a credible and effective way
• • Producing results
• • Ensuring the effective use of resources
• • Knowing and managing yourself 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The contractual partner will mostly undertake the review offsite, with travel to PNG for one month.  During the offsite work, communication will be through phone calls, exchange of emails, and online meetings.

SUBMISSIONS

Qualified and interested specialists should submit the following documents to the Supply Officer through WP RO UNGM at < wproungm@who.int > by 13 September 2022

• • Company Profile {for institutional applications} and Curriculum Vitae {of team lead/team members} 
• • Cover letter. The cover letter should outline how their experience and qualifications make them a suitable candidate for this bid.
• • Proposal indicating solution, methodology, timelines and cost

Please use Tender Notice No. 181383 as subject to all submission. Only successful candidates will be contacted.

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