Individual Consultancy: for elaboration of the Expanded Program Immunization Sustainability Plan

Consultant Medical & Health Programme & Policy

Contract

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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

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For every child, Health

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF Mozambique is in the process of identify and hire a consultant for six months; the consultant will support the ministry of health to draft , finalize and endorse a EPI Sustainability Plan, including a component of EPI Risk and Disaster Management with the aim to strengthen monitoring and evaluation process of immunization service delivery and the financial planning of the immunization Programme for the country.

Scope of Work:

Purpose and Objective:

UNICEF Mozambique is in the process of identify and hire a consultant for six months; the consultant will support the ministry of health to draft , finalize and endorse a EPI Sustainability Plan, including a component of EPI Risk and Disaster Management with the aim to strengthen monitoring and evaluation process of immunization service delivery and the financial planning of the immunization Programme for the country.

GAVI has been supporting the Government of Mozambique to implement the Expanded Program on Immunization for improving access to vaccination and reduce the number of zero-dose children. During the period of 2015-2020, GAVI's support was aimed to invest and build local capacity so that, for the next five years (2021-2025), the support can be focused on aspects of creating national sustainability for the expanded program in terms of quality, coverage and financing.

Existing inequalities, access, and availability of health care in the country have been recently exacerbated by large internal displacements due to conflict, subsequent natural disasters such as the cyclones as well as with economic impact of Covid 19 pandemic in the society that had created adverse effect on access to health services, including vaccinations, destroyed infrastructure of health facilities.

With increasing need for expanded immunization Programme governance, GAVI and the Alliance partners (WHO and UNICEF) are leading efforts to build national capacity, support MoH to lead and monitor the praccess of immunization service delivery and financing planning for Mozambique through targeted assistance for a EPI Sustainability Plan with EPI Risk and Disaster Management component.

This work will build on the key strategies, plans and lessons learned over the last 7 years of GAVI support in the country in alignment with Mozambique's c-MYP EPI 2020-2024, MSD 2020, EVM plan 2021 and multi-year GAVI TCA planning 2022-2025. The initial phase of this work requires the elaboration of a detailed contextual situational mapping of the different EPI programmatic areas and the development of a Framework for strengthening planning, financing, supply chain, demand creation, monitoring and evaluation strategies for quality service delivery; and interventions as well as mapping of potential funding opportunities available at national, regional, and global levels. The next phase will be the EPI Sustainability Plan with EPI Risk and Disaster Management component.

The consultancy will achieve the following objectives to support Expanded Programme Immunization within the Ministry of Health (MoH) :

1) mapping financing and investing made in last 5 year in EPI,

2) Carry out the partners landscape analysis,

3) Identify potential funding opportunities and

4) Develop the of EPI Sustainability Plan with EPI Risk and Disaster Management component.

The consultant, with support from UNICEF EPI team will coordinate and lead the communication with EPI, other department at MoH and other sectors as INS, INE, Ministries of Finance, Alliance Partners, organize meeting to involve EPI and no-EPI partners, carry out interviews with Key stakeholders and focal group discussion to elaborate the EPI sustainability Plan with EPI Risk and Disaster Management component.

Methodology and Technical Approach:

The consultant will be based at MoH or UNICEF CO in Maputo with presential meeting and work session with institutional stakeholders and partners. The consultant will organize regular bi-weekly presential meetings to provide updates to MoH EPI Manager and UNICEF Immunization Specialist. The consultant will use his/her own equipment and must have high internet connectivity and must be available/reachable online throughout the consultancy.

The consultant will work under the supervision and guidance of Health Manager and closely work with Immunization Specialist, UNICEF Country Office Mozambique and the MoH EPI manager. UNICEF will be responsible for the management of contract, assess consultant’s work, and evaluate performance based on deliverables. The consultant is expected to provide proof of insurance coverage prior to commencing the contract.

Activities:

• Activity 1. Desk review to identify funding and investment made in the last 5 years per programmatic area in the expanded immunization program, including in cold chain and vaccine acquisition and consumable purchases, with domestic funding from government, GAVI, and other donors, classified per recipient (the MoH), Alliance Partners and expanded partners.
• Activity 2. Map the epidemic profile in Mozambique in the last 5 years, describing outbreaks caused by vaccine preventable diseases, including those occurring in the emergency context, and the respective funding and investments made by the Government, GAVI, and other Donors.
• Activity 3. Map the funding provided for the introduction in the country of new vaccines in the last 5 years, and consider funding beyond GAVI (USAID, BMGF, etc.).
• Activity 4. Complete a partner’s landscape analysis, including nontraditional EPI partners, and suggest opportunities to improve the integration between EPI and other primary health care programs, such as MCH, Nutrition, Malaria, HIV/AIDS, etc.
• Activity 5. As part of the partners’ landscape analysis, identify contributions to health system strengthening functions, such as planning and financing, supported with EPI fund.
• Activity 6. Map out existing national, regional, and global financing and investment opportunities to be explored as future funding opportunities for EPI/MOH and define how these may contribute to strengthening delivery across health services.
• Activity 7. Identify EPI programmatic areas that could gradually be transited fully to domestic funding from 2026.
• Activity 8. Identify vaccines from the national calendar that could be added to the list of vaccines to be procured with domestic Government funds from 2026.
• Activity 9. Elaborate the EPI financing plan from 2026 onwards, aligned with the MoH financing strategy, including the EPI Risk and Disaster Management component.

Deliverables and Payments:

Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Work Assignments Overview

Desk review to identify funding and investment made in the last 5 years per programmatic area in the expanded immunization program, including in cold chain and vaccine acquisition and consumable purchases, with domestic funding from government, GAVI, and other donors, classified per recipient (the MoH), Alliance Partners and expanded partners.

Deliverables/Outputs 1

Brief report on funding and investment made, including in cold chain and vaccine acquisition and consumable purchases, in the last 5 years.

Timeline

Estimate Budget

Work Assignments Overview

Map the epidemic profile in Mozambique in the last 5 years, describing outbreaks caused by vaccine preventable diseases, including those occurring in the emergency context, and the respective funding and investments made by the Government, GAVI, and other Donors.

Deliverables/Outputs 2

Brief report on the epidemic profile in Mozambique and the funding that supported outbreaks in the last 5 years.

Timeline

Estimate Budget

Work Assignments Overview

Map the funding provided for the introduction in the country of new vaccines in the last 5 years, and consider funding beyond GAVI (USAID, BMGF, etc.).

Deliverables/Outputs 3

Brief report on the funding that supported the introduction of new vaccines in the last 5 years.

Timeline

Estimate Budget

Work Assignments Overview

Complete a partner’s landscape analysis, including nontraditional EPI partners, and suggest opportunities to improve the integration between EPI and other primary health care programs, such as MCH, Nutrition, Malaria, HIV/AIDS, etc.

Deliverables/Outputs 4

Partners landscapes analysis, including contributions to health system strengthening functions.

Timeline

Estimate Budget

Work Assignments Overview

As part of the partners’ landscape analysis, identify contributions to health system strengthening functions, such as planning and financing, supported with EPI fund.

Deliverables/Outputs 5

Brief report on existing national, regional, and global financing and investment opportunities.

Timeline

Estimate Budget

Work Assignments Overview

Map out existing national, regional, and global financing and investment opportunities to be explored as future funding opportunities for EPI/MOH and define how these may contribute to strengthening delivery across health services.

Identify EPI programmatic areas that could gradually be transited fully to domestic funding from 2026.

Deliverables/Outputs 6

Brief report on EPI programmatic area that could gradually transited to be full support by domestic Government funds from 2026.

Timeline

Estimate Budget

Work Assignments Overview

Identify vaccines from the national calendar that could be added to the list of vaccines to be procured with domestic Government funds from 2026.

Deliverables/Outputs 7

Suggested list of vaccines from the national calendar that could be added to the list of vaccines that are procured and financed with domestic Government funds from 2026

Timeline

Estimate Budget

Work Assignments Overview

Elaborate the EPI financing plan from 2026 onwards, aligned with the MoH financing strategy, including the EPI Risk and Disaster Management component.

Deliverables/Outputs 8

EPI financing plan from 2026 onwards, aligned with the MoH financing strategy, including the with EPI Risk and Disaster Management component

Timeline

Estimate Budget

Minimum Qualifications required:

Masters

Disciplines

- Advanced university degree in one or more of the following areas: Medicine, Public Health, planning, health financing /economy, logistics management, Cold Chain management or related area

- First university degree combined with additional two years relevant professional work experience and understanding of relevant functions may be considered in lieu of advanced university degree.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

Understanding of the principles of EPI planning and management, service delivery and financing

- Vaccine’s programming service delivery , communication, including cold chain and vaccine management

- Managing large-scale projects and working in resource-limited settings

- EPI Implementing and Monitor and evaluation EPI , experience in risk management

- Knowledge and experience with data collection, data management analysis and reporting

- Product knowledge on cold chain equipment, new cold chain technologies, procurement processes and good distribution practices could be beneficial

- Fluency in spoken and written English

- Working knowledge of Portuguese

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

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Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org