Short Term Consultant (STC) for Universal Health Coverage, with a Focus on Health Policy, Health Financing and Health Informatics

BACKGROUND

Universal health coverage (UHC) means that all people in a society are able to obtain the health services that they need, of high-quality, without fear that the cost of paying for these services at the time of use will push them into severe financial hardship. UHC has become a major policy priority in many countries, and a significant and growing focus of attention at the international level, forming one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 3.

Cambodia has made significant progress in recent decades towards UHC, however there remain key gaps in the range of services and level of utilization at primary care level, in the quality of care, in the ability to monitor the performance of service delivery, and in community involvement in mobilizing demand and accountability. In light of these challenges, WHO Cambodia is undertaking a number of efforts to support the country to move towards UHC, including in health financing, health policy and health informatics, to which this STC will significantly contribute.

This programme will build on a number of policy and implementation initiatives recently launched in Cambodia. The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) launched the National Social Protection Policy Framework 2016-2025 to expand social assistance and social protection including health insurance. The Ministry of Health launched the Health Strategic Plan (2016-2020) to build on MDG era progress by moving towards a vision of UHC through expanding primary care services, improving service quality and addressing inequities, including expanding access in rural areas. Moreover, a number of initiatives to raise quality of care have been developed, including laws to regulate healthcare practitioners and accredit facilities, a National Policy for Quality and Safety in Health and a Master Plan for Quality Improvement in Health, 2017-2021, and indicators to foster competition to improve quality among health centres.

PURPOSE/SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THE ACTIVITY

The purpose of the STC is to provide technical assistance to Ministry of Health, Cambodia in accelerating progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) in Cambodia, with a particular focus on health policy (including human resources for health), health financing and health informatics.

The Health Systems Development (HSD) team in the WHO Representative Office in Cambodia works closely with the government of Cambodia and development partners to strengthen health systems and advance UHC in the country. The STC will provide further support to roll out the use of the International Classification of Diseases – 10 (ICD-10) in Cambodia, support the Health Economist in WHO Cambodia on health financing analyses, and support the HSD Team Leader on strategic policy analyses. In the course of this work, the STC will undertake project management, provide technical support, facilitate policy dialogue and technical discussion, and generate and communicate evidence and information to support policy making. The specific areas of focus include, but are not limited to, ICD-10, monitoring of efforts towards UHC, development of a national e-health strategy, analysing the role of the private sector, reviewing high level strategic documents in Cambodia, and taking forward work on health equity and social determinants. The STC will both work at national level with the Ministry of Health but also work at implementation sites.  The STC will work under the direct supervision of the HSD Team Leader with overall guidance by WHO Representative and Head of Office in Cambodia.

DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES TO BE CARRIED OUT

In collaboration with Ministry of Health and Provincial Health Departments in implementation sites, and under the direct supervision of Health System Development Team Leader, WHO, the consultant will undertake following tasks:

1. Provide technical support to:

• ICD-10
• monitoring of efforts towards UHC
• development of a national e-health strategy
• analysing the role of the private sector
• reviewing high level strategic documents in Cambodia
• health equity analysis and social determinants policy

   

  2. Analyse information from implementation efforts, at subnational and national level, to inform:

• How to scale these approaches
• How to improve accountability of health providers by monitoring UHC

  3. Develop project plans for review of high level strategic plans.

  4. Provide project management of WHO supported efforts in health financing, health policy and health informatics.

  5. Provide additional support to HSD Team Leader and HSD Team as required.

  6. Submit a technical report at the end of the consultancy.

METHODS TO CARRY OUT THE ACTIVITY

• Literature and document reviews; meetings and discussions with the MOH and PHD counterparts, development partners, and other technical programmes of WHO (Regional Office and the Headquarters); facilitations of consultations; close collaboration with MOH, field visits to provinces as needed.

  Output/s 

• Output 1: Finalization of at least 4 policy briefs or documents on following topics: 
  • ICD-10
  • monitoring of efforts towards UHC
  • development of a national e-health strategy
  • analysing the role of the private sector
  • project plans for reviewing high level strategic documents in Cambodia
  • health equity analysis and social determinants policy
• Output 2: Draft of national e-health strategy
• Output 3: Scoping study report on private sector in Cambodia
• Output 4: Final report
• Final report with deliverables

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION

Essential:  Post-graduate degree in public health, international development and/or related fields

EXPERIENCE

Essential:  At least 3 years of experience in the field of health economics, health financing, human resources for health, health systems research, service delivery and/or health systems strengthening with strong skills in qualitative (policy) and quantitative analysis.

Desirable: Previous experience working for WHO. Experience working in public health in a low- or middle-income country.

TECHNICAL SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE

• Knowledge on health systems strengthening, and concepts of UHC.
• Good writing, presentation and communication skills are essential.
• Skills to analyse and present quantitative and qualitative data.

LANGUAGES

Essential: Fluent in English (writing, reading and speaking)

COMPETENCIES

• Communicating in a credible and effective way
• Producing results.
• Moving forward in a changing environment.
• Fostering integration and teamwork.
• Knowing and managing yourself.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The incumbent will work for HSD Team/WHO Cambodia Country Office based in Phnom Penh for most of this assignment.  S/he will occasionally travel to different parts of Cambodia (domestic travel) as required by the demands of the work, subject to approval by WR. Daily subsistence allowance will be provided when the incumbent undertakes duty travel to provinces outside duty station. S/he may occasionally work remotely at his/her own expense.

DURATION OF CONTRACT:  20 May 2019 - 31 December 2019

APPLICATIONS

Qualified and interested specialists should submit their CV {for individual contractors} or Company Profile {for institutional applications} and Expression of Interest {cover letter} to the Supply Officer through WP RO UNGM at < wproungm@who.int > by 26 April 2019. 

The cover letter should outline how their experience and qualifications make them a suitable candidate for this position and should include their proposed daily consultancy fee (USD) and availability.

Please use Tender Notice No.  WPRO/2019-04/KHM_HSD/TN88972/mnc  subject to all submission. 

Only successful candidates will be contacted.