Consultant - Alcohol and Health Situation Analysis

1. Background

   The Noncommunicable Diseases Unit provides policy guidance and technical assistance to Member States; develops, implements and monitors multisectoral, integrated, evidence-based, and people-centered policies, strategies and plans; and strengthens the capacity of national-health systems to deliver high-quality, integrated Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD), Mental and Neurologic Disorders services (MNS) at Primary Health Care and all levels of care for Universal Health Care (UHC). These include early diagnosis, screening and treatment of NCDs and their risk factors; rehabilitation and disability services; promoting and tracking cross-cutting, end-to-end delivery to achieve impact; and support to the building and maintenance of national and regional information systems for NCDs and mental health, neurology, and alcohol and substance use. The overall objective of The Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) programme in the WHO Regional Office for Africa is to provide leadership and vision in supporting Member States in the African region to reduce population exposure to key risk factors for NCDs; to reduce morbidity and mortality due to NCDs and mental disorders and improve the overall health status of the African population.

The Tobacco and Reduction of other Non-Communicable Diseases Risk Factors (TNR) Programme provides leadership and guidance in supporting Member States to tackle Tobacco and other Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) risk factors with the goal of reducing the burden of NCDs and improving the health of the populations in the WHO African Region. It does this through the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of multisectoral actions to prevent and reduce tobacco use, the harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity. Specifically, the TNR Programme builds Member States/country capacity through guidance, facilitation, and technical support in the development of evidence-based policies, legislation, strategies and plans on NCD risk factors; the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of multi-sectoral policies, plans and programmes; and the strengthening of surveillance and monitoring systems to report on global, regional and country targets and trends.

The harmful use of alcohol is one of the major risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). WHO estimates that globally 3 million deaths every year result from harmful use of alcohol, which represents 5.3% of all deaths. In the African Region, 32.2% of the adult population 15 years and above are current drinkers while 57.5% are lifetime abstainers[1]. Heavy episodic drinking among 15 to 19-year-olds has reached worrying levels. In 6 countries[2], over 80% of 15- to 19-year-old who are drinkers are heavy episodic drinkers (HED); similar figures are observed in 7 countries[3] with 60 to 80% HED among drinkers and 24 countries[4] with 40 to 60% HED among drinkers aged 15 to 19 years. The harmful use of alcohol is a causal factor in more than 200 diseases and injuries. In addition, it is associated with a range of mental and behavioral disorders

WHO’s Global status report on alcohol and health 2021 will be released in Quarter 3 of 2022. It presents a comprehensive picture of alcohol consumption and the disease burden attributable to alcohol worldwide by WHO regions and World Bank income groups. It also describes what countries are doing to reduce this burden. The report provides an overview of alcohol consumption and harms in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, presents global strategies, action plans and monitoring frameworks, gives detailed information on the consumption of alcohol in populations; the health consequences of alcohol consumption; and policy responses at national level. The imperative for reducing harmful use of alcohol in a public health perspective is reiterated. In addition, the report contains country profiles for WHO Member States and appendices with statistical annexes, a description of the data sources and methods used to produce the estimates and references.

The African Region would like to extract the African Regional data and prepare an African Region Alcohol and Health Report 2022. The African Region report will focus on the local context, provide regional and sub-regional analysis as well as providing the country profiles for the Region in the Annexes. This is important as a first step, in preparation for development of the Regional Implementation Framework of the Global Alcohol Action Plan to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol.

2. Deliverables

   Specific tasks include the following:

• Carry out a desk review of published literature on alcohol and health in the African Region, with particular attention to specific populations, such as young people aged 13 years to 19years; health care workers, survivors of COVID-19, women and girls, including pregnant women and girls, as well as children born to women and girls who consume alcohol. The data should also investigate specific conditions, including but not restricted to alcohol use disorders, fetal alcohol syndrome disorder, as well as the conditions directly or indirectly attributable to the harmful use of alcohol
• Review the currently available data sets, including the various rounds of WHO alcohol and health surveys among others and STEPS Surveys, to provide regional, sub regional and country information, including trends. Sub analysis could include, but not be limited to West, Central, East, and Southern data, as well as for drinkers, by age group, heavy episodic drinking, by gender, among others and on issues such as unrecorded alcohol and feminisation of alcohol consumption
• Prepare a first draft of the situation report for review by NCD and TNR Teams and selected experts.
• Integrate comments and revise the draft situation analysis
• Oversee a review of final draft by NCD and TNR team and Technical experts.

Deliverable will be:

1. Africa Regional Status Report on Alcohol and Health

Outline clear tasks and deliverables, to be carried out in the framework of the background described above.

These need to be time-bound and specific.

3. Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

   Educational Qualifications

• Essential: An Advanced University degree (Master’s level or above) in one of the disciplines relevant to the following areas: Public Health & Psychiatry, or Clinical Psychology, International Health & Mental Health, Global Mental Health policy or development studies, or other closely related field of study to Global Mental Health issues..
• Desirable: Post graduate qualification in Mental Health Epidemiology, Social Work or related field, Medical Anthropology or related field is an added advantage

Experience

• Required: At least seven years of relevant experience, at the national and international levels, in development and management of Alcohol or Mental Health programmes. Related research and working experience as an academician either in a School of Public Health, with a Government Department or an NGO. Previous experience of designing carrying out situation analyses.
• Desirable: A strong publication history in peer reviewed journals. Relevant work experience in WHO, other UN agencies, relevant non-governmental, and Academic Institutions.

Skills/Knowledge

• Technical and programmatic knowledge and approaches in alcohol and health
• An excellent ability to review data sets, determine trends, identify key issues and present the information accessible to policy and program managers.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to solve and explain technical issues and take part in meetings with tact and diplomacy.
• Ability to write in a clear and concise manner.
• Knowledge of WHO role, mandates, strategies & action plans (global, regional and country specific).
• Good interpersonal skills with experience in networking with partners at all levels (ministry, donors, private sector, NGOs and local community-based organizations).
• Willingness to share technical knowledge

Languages and level required

• Excellent knowledge of English and intermediate knowledge of French

• The above language requirements are interchangeable.

  4. Technical Supervision

  Prof JM DANGOU, Team Lead NCD [email protected]

Indicate the name and title of the supervisor with email address.

5. Location

   Please specify where the consultant will work:

On site: ____________(please indicate office and duty station)

Off site: __***TBD***____(please indicate location/address).

On site for insurance purposes :____________(please indicate location/address). (This is where a duty travel is planned during the course of the consultancy but the consultant is being hired to work from home)

6. Travel - If travel is involved, full medical clearance is required

   Please specify any expected travel(s): dates, location and purpose.

No travel is expected to take place

A living expense is payable to on-site consultants – please refer to Information Note 08/2019 for details on eligibility.

7. Remuneration and budget (travel costs excluded)

Rate [daily or monthly or for language and publishing services by word count or number of pages]:

Monthly Professional fee in Band B, at USD 8,500 per month for 2 months, for a total of $17,000

Currency:

US Dollars

Work schedule (if applicable) :

Please refer to Information Note 09/2021 for guidance on rates for consultants.