National Consultancy: Development of a Primary health system resilience assessment tool (Iranian National)

Contract

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For every child, Strength

Development of a Primary health system resilience assessment tool

CONTRACT PROPOSED DURATION 6 months

BACKGROUND

The health resiliency of Iran is deeply rooted in its dynamic socio-political landscape. Over the years, inclusive government policies have aimed to ensure free access to primary healthcare for both Iranians and non-Iranians, reinforcing the country's commitment to health as a universal right. Despite these efforts, the healthcare system faces immense strain, particularly from political sanctions, the recent influx of Afghan refugees, and the global COVID-19 pandemic. Economic hardships have stretched the government's resources thin, and there's a rising concern that vulnerable families might deprioritize their health needs.

On the other hand, the fabric of Iranian society, with its emphasis on family and community support networks, is seen as a potential enhancer of health resiliency, even if its effects might vary across regions or communities. External assistance, especially from UN agencies like WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, and UNDP, has been pivotal in moments of acute need, be it through infrastructure development, medical equipment provision, or aiding in the COVAX vaccine initiative. While challenges loom large, including disaster preparedness and continued resource constraints, opportunities for international cooperation and the newly instituted disaster management law hint at a pathway forward. The trajectory of Iran's health resilience is thus marked by both significant challenges and notable opportunities for growth and collaboration.

Primary health systems have an important and critical role in providing health services to the community. They should absorb, buffer, and respond to different natural and human-caused hazards. There is a need to identify feasible measures of resilience, potential strategies to build resilience and weaknesses of health systems experiencing shocks. Thus, measuring and assessing PHC disaster resilience is one of the most important roles of all health systems. To do this, it is needed to use an integrated, and comprehensive PHC resilience assessment tool. This tool should consider the functional, structural, and non-structural components (such as buildings, spaces, lifelines, and facilities) inside and outside of a PHC unit. In addition, it should indicate the indicators from the population live around the PHC unit and receive health care from it. Iran’s health system uses a tool for assessing the PHC safety named “Primary Health Safety Index,” but this tool needs to be improved in terms of various aspects such as governmental, structural, environmental, and community resilience. This study aims to develop an assessment tool for Iran’s primary health system resilience.

Currently, UNICEF has extended its support to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education to enhance the capacity of PHC resiliency and respond with close cooperation with Center for Health Network Management efforts. To this end, UNICEF will work with a consultant to conduct a comprehensive Primary Health Care system resilience assessment tool. The tool serves as a compendium of technical resources to support countries in strengthening the resilience of their health systems and provides a comprehensive and structured framework to assess the resilience of primary health systems. This holistic evaluation allows for a deeper understanding of a health system's capacity to respond to emergencies. The Primary Health System Resilience Assessment Tool is a valuable resource for healthcare authorities and policymakers to enhance the overall resilience and effectiveness of the primary healthcare infrastructure, ultimately leading to better healthcare outcomes for the community.

How can you make a difference?

OBJECTIVE / SCOPE OF WORK

General Objective:

- Enhancing resiliency of Primary Health Care system to emergencies in Iran.

Specific Objectives

- Developing and contextualizing of the primary health system resilience tool

- Assessing the PHC resilience in a selected area using the developed tool

- Training health workers to use the developed primary health system resilience tool

Activities, Methodology and Technical Approach

1. Analysis the gaps and weaknesses of PHSI used in Iran using a qualitative approach
2. Analysis of needs of Iran’s primary health care system to use a comprehensive PHC resilience assessment tool using a qualitative approach
3. Development and verification of a comprehensive PHC resilience assessment tool using a qualitative approach
4. Assessment of the primary health system resilience in a selected area using a survey study
5. Contextualization of the primary health system resilience in the selected areas using GIS
6. Training health workers to use the developed primary health system resilience tool

Deliverables, Indicators, Timeframe, and Schedule of Payment

Core Activities:

A qualitative study to find gaps and needs of Iran’s primary health care system to assess PHC resilience

Corresponding Deliverable: Identified gaps, needs, and indicators of PHC resilience assessment in Iran’s health system

Indicator: Report, including the qualitative study results

Payment: 20 %

Core Activities: A qualitative study to develop and verify of a comprehensive PHC resilience assessment tool

Corresponding Deliverable: Developed PHC resilience assessment tool

Indicator: Report, including the qualitative study results

Payment: 20 %

Core Activities: A survey study to assess the primary health care system resilience in a selected area

Corresponding Deliverable: Gathered data from assessment of the primary health care system resilience in a selected area

Indicator: Report, including the survey study results

Payment: 20 %

Core Activities: Contextualization of the primary health care system resilience in the selected areas using GIS

Corresponding Deliverable: Developed maps of the primary health care system resilience in a selected area

Indicator: Report with the GIS based maps

Payment: 30 %

Core Activities: Training health workers to use the developed primary health care system resilience tool

Corresponding Deliverable: Held workshop to train health staff to use the developed primary health care system resilience tool

Indicator: Report, including the evaluation of the training workshop

Payment: 10 %

N.B. All reports and presentations should be submitted in English

Management:

• UNICEF is the contractor of the consultant who will work under the supervision of MoHME and in close collaboration of UNICEF;

• The focal responsible department in MoHME is Health Network Management.;

• UNICEF will monitor the project however any payment will not be released to consultant before reception of official satisfaction of UNICEF and MoHME;

The consultant is responsible for delivering all tasks as agreed in table under section 5 of this document.

CONDITIONS OF WORK • The consultant/s will work under direct supervision of MoHME and UNICEF Health and Nutrition Specialist;

• The trips and missions to the field will be organized and supported by UNICEF.

• The consultant shall use his/her own facilities to manage the work, but, where circumstances demand otherwise, shall be allowed to make use of available UNICEF office space, computer and internet facilities with prior notification and arrangement with the supervisor and UNICEF Admin/ICT. The provision of these facilities by UNICEF shall be subject to their availability.

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

• Advanced degree in a relevant field, such as Medicine, Public Health, Public Health Emergency, and other related fields
• Proven expertise and at least five years of experience in conducting assessments of humanitarian or health emergency response programmes.
• Have proven strong research and methodological skills necessary for designing and validating assessment tools
• Sound knowledge of international standards, regulatory requirements, and best practices in related to health assessment tools and data privacy
• Academic of an institute of higher education
• Have proven experience in conducting qualitative and quantitative studies for the humanitarian and/or development sector and have access to technical expertise related to the study topics.
• Previous experience working with UN agencies or international organizations is desirable.
• Knowledge of health and health emergency context in Iran (and the region) is a strong advantage.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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.