Short-Term Consultant on Early Essential Newborn Care

Background

A newborn infant (an infant between birth and one month of age) dies every two minutes in the Western Pacific Region. Some 230 000 newborns die each year, representing more than half of all deaths in children under five. Newborn deaths are concentrated in the first three days of life and are often preventable. Despite available simple low-cost interventions that can prevent many deaths, they are not reaching the babies that need them. Child mortality has declined impressively in the last 20 years, although the areas of early childhood development, injuries and maltreatment have not received attention; and the child health programme in many countries has stagnated. All countries in the Region need continued and increased attention to antenatal care (ANC) and family planning (FP) programming to ensure that evidence-based interventions and new FP methods are delivered effectively. 

In response to the challenge of continued high rates of newborn mortality, the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) has developed an Action Plan Towards Healthy Newborn Infants in the Western Pacific Region (2014-2020)[1][i][2]. The Regional Action Plan outlines an approach for implementing and scaling up an Early Essential Newborn Care (EENC) Package of interventions by improving the quality and reach of key newborn services and demand for these services. Early essential newborn care (EENC) is a package of interventions delivered to the mother and newborn between delivery and the first three days after birth. EENC interventions are simple and low cost and have been demonstrated to be effective in preventing newborn deaths from the most common causes. EENC interventions are delivered during delivery and the period immediately after delivery. In addition, EENC promotes the cessation of outdated, harmful or ineffective practices that are still widespread.

Implementation of EENC has focused in eight countries with the highest rates of newborn mortality (Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines,
Solomon Islands, Vietnam) and the highest number of newborn deaths (China). These countries are all signatories to the WHO Regional Action Plan for Healthy Newborn Infants and committed to taking action. WHO/WPRO continues to support improved quality and reach of EENC by improving routine health systems. Implementation and planning (using policy and planning guidelines, EENC coaching and health facility strengthening approaches) is underway in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vietnam – progress in these countries was documented in the Second Biennial Progress Meeting and Report, conducted in August 2017. These countries are moving beyond early implementation to wider scale-up and institutionalization of the approach. At the Regional level a number of activities are now required to support EENC in the Region, including finalization of regional tools and methods; finalization of peer-reviewed papers to document progress with early implementation; and increasing efforts to document mortality impact using hospital and survey data.  Finally, successful uptake of the EENC coaching and systems approach has promoted a demand to develop a similar primary care approach for FP, ANC and care of young children. Development and testing of primary care approaches in these areas will also be central to the next phase of country support.

This consultancy assignment will provide technical support and advice on policy options to senior Ministry of Health (MOH) persons and staff, development partners and WHO-country representatives and staff for the development and implementation of strategies that deliver EENC and FP, ANC and child health services more effectively. It will focus on mechanisms to improve the quality of care provided including strengthened policies, planning and coordination, human resources, service delivery, monitoring and evaluation, better using data for decision making and tracking progress and development of community-based initiatives to improve home care and care seeking practices of women and families. In addition, it will provide technical support to develop and finalize EENC tools and methods; and new primary health care tools and methods for country use to overcome common barriers. Finally, it will provide advice to the regional coordinator and WHO representatives on strategic steps toward improving its effectiveness toward country support. All activities will build on those already conducted in countries in 2017, which has seen all countries continue to make progress.

Purpose/Specific Objective of the Activity

The consultant works with the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (MCA) Unit of the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WHO WPRO) and WHO Country Office Representatives and Team Leaders in priority countries (Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Viet Nam) remotely and through missions to: 

1.  Advise   on development, and evaluate implementation, of relevant country policies on EENC, ANC, FP and child health.

2.  Provide policy and technical advice towards developing programmes and help establish guidelines that ensure country level efficient implementation. Working closely with the National Government, advise on strategically improving the implementation and evaluation of projects and initiatives across the various WHO programmes that are related to EENC, FP, ANC and child health programming and advise on integrating these efforts to ensure maximize efficiency and address cross-cutting issues.

3.  Provide technical advice to build country capacity on improving quality of EENC, FP, ANC, child health programming through reviews, assessments, coaching, policy development and strategic planning at national, subnational and facility levels.  Conduct clinical EENC coaching as required

4.  Provide technical advice on compliance to related international treaties and legislation. Back stop the regional coordinator in strategic initiation of cross-sectoral work with health officials.

5.  Finalize regional EENC tools including the Kangaroo Mother Care practice guide; finalize development and writing of papers for peer reviewed journals on EENC implementation.
6.  Conduct country EENC Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) reviews to document current status of data reporting and develop actions to strengthen routine data reporting.  Develop approaches to better collect and use hospital data for tracking EENC impact over time.

7.  Facilitate primary health care reviews for FP, ANC and child health services with senior MOH staff, the EENC technical working group and development partners. Mentor local staff in the approach. Use findings to adapt and modify guidelines and to finalize guidelines for Regional use.

8.  Develop, write, edit and finalize Regional Primary Health Care Quality Improvement guides (PHCQIGs) for FP, ANC and child health.

9.  Liaise with senior MOH staff, WHO-representative and development partners to review assessment and mission findings, to institutionalize EENC including incorporation of the tools noted above, to secure funding and provide technical assistance to these groups as needed; and to further strengthen FP, ANC and child health services.

10.  Provide technical support to plan, organize and conduct regional and national meetings and workshops.

Description of the tasks/process involved in carrying out the activity

The consultant will coach and mentor local staff in the EENC quality assurance approach and EENC clinical coaching as needed; conduct EENC HMIS reviews and develop mechanisms to track EENC impact; track progress, identify problems and address them for EENC, FP and child health programming; develop and test new PHQIGs for FP, ANC and child health -and mentor country counterparts to use new methods; liaise with partners and Ministry of Health staff to fund postnatal care  plans; advocate for on-going support for EENC, FP, ANC and child health programming. Regional support will include:  finalization of the EENC Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) guide; preparing papers on EENC; developing, testing and finalizing PHCQIGs for FP, ANC and child health; writing proposals as needed; advising the regional office on effective strategies to accelerate progress on EENC, FP, ANC and child health.

Required profile of the consultant

Education
Essential:

(a) Medical degree (doctor, nurse, midwifery);
(b) Public health or other relevant master or doctorate level degree.

Experience
Essential:

(a) At least 12 years’ experience in developing country settings;

(b) At least 3 years of practical experience supporting country and health facility level planning, implementation, scale up, monitoring and evaluation of newborn health programmes.

Skills/Technical Skills and Knowledge

a. Expertise in the gathering, analysis and use of epidemiological data – particularly in the area of maternal, child and newborn health;

b. High level technical skill in core areas such as programme planning,management, monitoring  and evaluation.

Language requirements

English language – expert level required for reading, writing and speaking.

Place of assignment

Off-site support will be provided. The consultant will be required to travel to the Regional Office and countries in the Region as needed. For travel, WHO shall shoulder cost of travel from the place of domicile of the individual to the place of assignment (most direct economy fare).

Interested individuals should submit following documents to the Supply Officer (WPRO) at wprosao@who.int by 6 February 2018. Please use Tender Notice No. 67387 as subject to all submissions.

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

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.