Consultant to support in the assessment of the health insurance programme in Jordan

1. Purpose of consultancy

The purpose of this consultation is to provide technical advice to the policy and institutional assessment of the health insurance programme for UHC in Jordan.

2. Background

Fragmentation of health financing mechanisms, health services delivery unevenly available, congestion of public providers, and unregulated development of the private providers were the cumulated over-decades challenges of the Jordanian health system. To overcome these challenges and to fulfill the citizens’ needs, the civil health insurance (CIP) was amended to provide free coverage for specific groups (children under the age of 6, senior citizens over the age of 60, and individuals with chronic diseases, e.g. cancer, kidney dialysis and HIV/AIDS). Such amendments have certainly, expanded the coverage and enhanced the pooling. Without mobilizing additional public resources. The fragmentation and its mitigated consequences weren’t right now, solved through identifying policy options to implement a unified single pool with compulsory or automatic coverage, and strategic purchasing.

In 2018, the department of statistics reported that insurance coverage reached around 71.8% amongst Jordanians and 66.9% for the entire population. The share of various insurance and coverage schemes are as follows: Civil Insurance Program (CIP) which covers civil-servants and their dependents (41.7%); Military Insurance Fund which covers the army and security agencies and their dependents (38%); university hospitals (2.5%); private insurance (12.4%). The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) covers the primary healthcare costs of 2.5% of the population. Workers from the formal and informal private sectors are not yet considered under the compulsory schemes of health coverage. The Royal Court provides medical assistance for Jordanians who lack insurance coverage or are unable to pay for health care. All residents can benefit from the subsided healthcare services provided at the Ministry of Health (MoH) facilities. Children enrolled at public schools receive healthcare through the school health programme, and most Jordanians who lack formal insurance coverage or means to pay for healthcare may receive medical assistance through the Royal Court and other agencies. It is evident that assessment of CIP regulatory and administrative capacity is critical. This assessment is multidimensional and must observe CIP through its articulation with the different functions “pillars” of the health system such as governance, financing, healthcare provision, health information system, and with its shared objectives with the social health protection in general such as to fulfil the commitment to access to quality health care services. The consultant will be responsible for providing technical assistance for data gathering and analysis and plan of action to address identified gaps. This consultancy is a part of the EU-funded “EUTF Health Programme for Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians.

3. Work to be performed

The consultant will work closely with WHO Country Office (WCO) Jordan and the Health Insurance administration.

The consultant will provide a report(s) after each deliverable to the WCO Jordan and the National committee of health financing.

The consultant shall report to the WCO Jordan for any queries and assistance

Output 1: Support data gathering and analysis with coordination of WCO Jordan and HIA staff

Deliverable 1.1: Establish a data collection workplan, which includes interview questions to fill in information gaps.

Deliverable 1.2: Deliver a report containing the preliminary policy and institutional diagnostic results and missed data.

Output 2: Provide thorough analysis to identify weaknesses of CIP technical areas and discuss it at MoH/HIA level.

Deliverable 2.1: Draft a paper which summarizes the policy and institutional assessment.

Deliverable 2.2: Discuss the assessment results in multisector meetings

Output 3: Develop the final CIP assessment report and plan of action to address gaps

Deliverable 3.1: Disseminate results of the policy and institutional assessment.

Deliverable 3.2: Develop final report of the HIA assessment and endorse it by MoH/HIA.

4. Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Degree in health economics or public health with essential knowledge the health financing and coverage. Desirable: Master’s degree in health economics or public health

Experience

5 years’ of combined working experience in health insurance and financing, and health system and insurance reforms and strategy implementation.

Skills/Technical skills and knowledge:

Experience in working with government (especially with the Ministry of Health and Health Insurance Administration-HIA), development agencies, and/or NGOs in health is desirable

Experience in the field of health insurance and financing and policy and strategic development along with:

• Proven ability to understand and explain WHO's conceptual framework on health financing and coverage
• Extensive knowledge of assessment, monitoring and evaluation frameworks in terms of structure, content and use in the health insurance.
• Deep understanding of how to communicate concepts with health policy makers in LMICs, and proven ability
• to translate such frameworks into implementable analysis in LMIC settings i.e. in a user-friendly way.

Languages and level required:

Excellent command of English and Arabic (Read - Write - Speak).

5. Location

Amman, Jordan

6. Planned timelines

50 working days during the below period (dates are subject to confirmation)

Start date: 17 July 2022

End date: 4 December 2022

7. Medical clearance

The selected Consultant will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.

8. Travel

The Consultant is not expected to travel.

Additional Information

• This vacancy notice may be used to identify candidates for other similar consultancies at the same level.
• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
• A written test may be used as a form of screening.
• If your candidature is retained for interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
• For information on WHO's operations please visit: http://www.who.int.
• WHO is committed to workforce diversity.
• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.
• WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter into practice.
• WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.