Short-term Consultant in Health Systems Strengthening and Service Delivery Sustainability

Background

As countries in the Western Pacific region continue to see economic development, those currently receiving donor support, such as from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, will fast approach graduation status. This is happening in the context of the rapid introduction of many new and significantly more expensive vaccines, placing a considerable burden on both the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) programs, as well as the health systems in general.

The countries face both issues on continuity of services while introducing new services into often weak systems, and the prospect of having to negotiate for vaccine prices on the open market once they graduate. This affects both Gavi-graduating and non-Gavi-supported countries within the region. MICs who do not receive donor support have increasingly voiced concerns over sustaining their EPI programmes with increasing costs of newer vaccines.

The Integrated Service Delivery unit (ISD) aims to work with the countries and the EPI units at regional and country office to assess the vulnerability of these programs, create projections of resourcing need, and disseminate timely information on the vaccine market to ensure sustainable and equitable access to affordable vaccines.

Specifically, ISD aims to focus on responding to the following items of the sixty-eighth World Health Assembly (WHA68.6) resolution:

• “to report upon technical, procedural and legal barriers that may undermine the robust competition that can enable price reductions for new vaccines, and address other factors that can adversely affect the availability of vaccines;” – REQUESTS to Director-General (item 6)
• “to continue to assist Member States to improve and sustain their vaccine delivery systems and to continue to provide technical support to Member States to strengthen the knowledge and skills of their health care professionals in vaccination programmes;” – REQUESTS to Director-General (item 8)

Tasks

The consultant is to support the ISD unit with the above activities, specifically:

• ai & aii: Continue to provide ongoing programmatic support for
  in-country joint missions and assessment of NEPI programmes; review annual performance reports (APRs), Joint Report Form (JRFs) and assist in ongoing evaluation and reporting of New Vaccine Support (NVS), Health Systems Strengthening (HSS), and other related grants with subsequent follow up;
   
• aiii & aiv: Coordinate with country office (both EPI & HSS focal points) and member state counterparts for the submission of new or reprogramming of HSS grants, and/or the submission of graduation grants for the transitioning phase (Phase II); assist member states in compliance to new policies and reporting criteria, such as the Performance Framework and eligibility criteria, under the new Gavi Business plan 4.0;
   
• bi, biii & biv: Collate, analyze, and disseminate information from all known databases and sources on immunization financing to enable member states’ budgeting and informed-decision making; tailored-five year projection models to predict expenditures with country-specific immunization schedules, population growths, and co-financing commitments; use above models to assist in the development of the continuous multiyear plan (cMYP) and National Health Plans (NHPs);
   
• bii: Using the 2013 & 2014 revisions of the Vaccine Price, Procurement and Product (V3P) database, analyse the vaccine price trends per antigen as segregated by income levels of countries (LIC, LMIC, HIC etc.),  region, volume purchased (dose procured), procuring mechanism (self-procuring, pooled mechanism etc.), and adjusting for other potential bundling of vaccine prices (syringes, buffer, tax, freight etc.); encourage uptake of V3P initiative for member states through sharing price information and  showing the benefits of improved price transparency;

• bv: Conclusion of Lao micro-costing study (aggregation and correlation analysis), and finalize and publish report with WHO Collaborating Center, the National Centre for Global Health & Medicine (NCGM); consult and explore potential interest in micro-costing of NEPI programmes in other member states;

• ci, cii & ciii: Examine the body of international laws pertaining to access of affordable vaccines with a focus of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and international trade laws, including the impact of bilateral partnerships and regional free trade agreements; examine pharmaceutical industry practices that may lead to non-transparency in vaccine pricing, including non-disclosure agreements, price bundling, and Advanced Market Commitments (AMCs);

• di: Continue the (informal) multi-stakeholder engagement with partners via teleconference and meetings to share and pool policy developments and latest research findings related to access to affordable vaccines; collaboration with partners who share common interest to strengthen the collective advocacy in achieving universal and sustainable immunization coverage.

Required profile of the Consultant

Education

• University degree in health economics, statistics, health financing, health policy, and/or health systems.
• Desired: Doctorate in Public Health or health-related sciences.

Experience:

• Academic experience in research, statistical analysis (both quantitative and qualitative), financial modelling, policy analysis, programme and grant portfolio management.
• Expert knowledge in the Vaccine Product, Price, and Procurement (V3P) database and other price databases.
• Working experience in expanded immunisation programmes and health systems strengthening support with WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, and/or member states within the Western Pacific Region.
• Experience in conducting joint-missions and field visits in member states, and proficiency in STATA or other statistical software programmes.
• Academic writing skills with publishing experience.

Competencies

1. Communicating in a credible and effective way
2. Producing results
3. Moving forward in a changing environment
4. Fostering integration and teamwork
5. Knowing and managing yourself

Those interested may submit the following documents to Ms Ying Chen, Supply Officer (WPRO) at <SAO@wpro.who.int>by 31 January 2016:

• Expression of interest (cover letter) that includes proposed consultancy fee (per day) and availability
• WHO personal history form or CV

Please note that the application may be closed before the indicated closing date if a sufficient number of applications are received. Only successful candidates will be contacted.