Consultant to Provide Technical Support to Oversee Data Collection on Laboratory Referral Services

Terms of Reference

Consultant to provide technical support to oversee data collection on laboratory referral services

1. BACKGROUND OF THE ASSIGNMENT

1.1 The beneficiary

The beneficiary organization of the final deliverable is the Ministry of Health (MoH) in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

1.2 Contracting Authority

The contracts relative to this technical assistant will be signed with the representatives of Abt Associates Inc. in their role as provider of technical assistance to the Ministry of Health in accordance with the Infectious Disease Detection and Surveillance (IDDS) program of cooperation.

1.3 IDDS Background

The Infectious Disease Detection and Surveillance (IDDS) activity is a 5-year cost plus fixed-fee contract with a ceiling of $120 million, awarded in May 2018 to ICF Inc. with sub-partners: FHI 360, PATH, Abt Associates, Metabiota, African Society for Laboratory Medicine, and Gryphon Scientific. It is a global award designed to support USAID’s tuberculosis, Global Health Security Agenda, and Emerging Pandemic Threat strategies and portfolios, while encouraging integration or coordination across public health diseases and between the human and animal health sectors where appropriate.

The purpose of IDDS activity is to operationalize USAID, U.S. Government and global initiatives and strategies aimed to reduce global health threats posed by infectious diseases – including TB and MDR-TB, focusing on strengthening of disease detection networks and surveillance systems in order to:

• Improve the detection of diseases of public health importance and identification of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in priority infectious diseases through an accessible, accurate, adaptable, timely and integrated diagnostic network system; and
• Improve the quality of real-time surveillance systems for pathogens of greatest public health concern, including AMR and zoonotic diseases.

1.4 Context of the assignment

Within Vietnam, basic diagnostic capability can be found at the district level with increasing capacity at the provincial and regional levels. With the resources that are available, the emphasis has been on transporting specimens to referral sites over decentralizing diagnostic capacity. This makes specimen referral and transport systems essential to the functioning of the diagnostic network. While specimen referral systems exist in Vietnam, they are fragmented, lack full coverage, and integrated systems that incorporates the requirements for many diseases or a one health approach along does not exist. For an integrated specimen referral system to function optimally, it must have adequate geographical and disease coverage, use efficient and timely transportation systems, maintain specimen integrity, protect the safety of those transporting the specimens, and have adequate financial resources to ensure sustainability. This includes planning for the necessary management, information systems, human resources, equipment, and technical support, in addition to the transportation costs.

While the diagnostic test itself may be financed through the Vietnamese Social Health Insurance, most of the additional components are not covered, leaving the regions, provinces, sites, and providers to come up with many different paths to lead to testing or in many cases, testing is not provided.

IDDS will work with the government of Vietnam, existing partners that represent specific disease programs, CDC, WHO, and others to achieve this integration and optimization of the networks and to ensure that specimen referral and transportation requirements are considered for a variety of pathogens. IDDS will also support the country to identify and adequately plan for the costs of a comprehensive system from the point of specimen collection through the return of results. This will allow the government to maximize partner contributions to the system. The results from this activity will also enable IDDS to create a plan in out years that supports the comprehensive specimen referral system.

Initially, IDDS will focus on understanding the existing fragmented specimen referral systems within the chosen provinces, including reviewing existing data and supporting the establishment an effective governance structure that brings these fragmented systems together. One component of doing this will be convening meetings with government agencies, implementers, and stakeholders to review the current specimen referral systems and identify gaps in specimen collection, maintaining specimen integrity, transfer to laboratories (including those needing to be sent to reference laboratories), and
return of results. This will also include collection and review of existing data relating to coverage, costs, performance, etc.

With this information in mind, IDDS will support the provinces to convene consultative meetings with all stakeholders that reviews the information from above and identifies any additional unknown gaps.

More importantly, an outcome will include identification and agreements on improvements for a comprehensive integrated referral system for specimens.
Equally important is to support the provinces in developing sustainable mechanisms that ensure the viability of any system independent of outside support. IDDS will support the provinces to develop a financing analysis to identify financing gaps and develop preliminary financing options. This will lead to and the development of a sustainability roadmap/plan in project year 2.

2. OBJECTIVE AND TASKS OF THE ASSIGNMENT

2.1. Objective

To support the overarching activity objectives, the IDDS project, through Abt Associates, Inc., seeks a local consultant with demonstrated experience and knowledge of public health, health insurance, and/or laboratory costing to manage data collection efforts and aid in the analysis of data related to the cost and financing of a comprehensive specimen referral systems. The consultant will work closely with the IDDS team in Vietnam and IDDS staff at Abt Associates, Inc. located in the United States to complete the work in-country.

2.2. Tasks

The consultant will carry the following tasks:

• Review and revise the specimen referral budgeting tool with IDDS staff.
• Accompany IDDS staff on an assessment/charting and gap analysis visit to 4 provinces (Thai Nguyen, Ha Giang, Binh Dinh and Dong Thap):
• Collect data necessary for completing the specimen referral budgeting tool and sources of finance in one province. Based on this experience, review the data collection tool with Abt Associates staff, recommend and implement changes as needed.
• Collect data necessary for completing the specimen referral budgeting tool and sources of finance for each of the remaining three provinces. Data collection will be done by interviewing experts, reviewing documents, and assessing prices for services from different providers (e.g., private transportation companies).
• Document the sources of data; document assumptions made for the costing
• These trips are anticipated to take about 3 weeks and start at the end of June, 2020.
• Work with IDDS staff at Abt Associates to complete the cost / budget analysis:
• Follow-up data collection for any data not collected during the trips
• Discussions about the data
• Help complete and review data analysis
• Review and provide comments on report on the cost of a comprehensive specimen referral systems
• Work with IDDS to identify funding gaps based on projected costs and current financing.
• Work with IDDS and disease programs, CDC, WHO, provincial governments, and others to identify potential sources of funding for a comprehensive specimen referral systems. This will likely include presenting results of costing and funding gap to interested stakeholders and working with IDDS to lead a workshop on the identification of potential sources of funding.
• Produce a summary report of the findings of interviews/workshops.
• Review and provide comments on report on the potential sources of financing of a comprehensive specimen referral systems

3. RISKS

No major risks foreseen at this time that are unique to the scope of this work. If the COVID-19 pandemic should re-occur in Vietnam, the timeline of this scope of work will be revised accordingly.

4. MANAGEMENT OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The IDDS team will be responsible for managing the technical assistance and the technical products.

5. LOCATION AND TIMING

5.1. Location

The work will be carried out through in-country work, and data collection will occur in four provinces (Thai Nguyen, Ha Giang, Binh Dinh and Dong Thap) as well as at the national level in Hanoi.

5.2. Timing

The assignment is planned for the period from 15 June 2020 to 31 September 2020 with a total of up to 35 working days.

6. REQUIREMENTS

6.1. Qualification requirements

The consultant is expected to fulfill the following requirements:

• Graduate degree in Public Health or similar disciplines
• 3 – 5 years of work and/or consultancy experience with health or laboratory programs, experience in costing/budgeting is highly desired
• Knowledge and understanding of the public laboratory system in Vietnam and its current context, especially at decentralized level
• Knowledge and understanding of social health insurance in general and for laboratory testing in particular
• Excellent writing skill
• Demonstrate ability to work effectively with government agencies including MOH, CDC at central and provincial level
• Good knowledge of English
• High level of oral and written communication skills in Vietnamese required

6.2. Equipment

The consultant agrees to use their own computers and equipment as necessary to carry out the work.

7. DELIVERABLES AND REPORTING

• Comments on the specimen referral budgeting tool
• Weekly updates during travel (email)
• Data set on costs and financing of a comprehensive specimen referral systems for four provinces, including clear documentation of sources and assumptions
• Comments on data analysis
• Comments on report on the cost of a comprehensive specimen referral systems
• Report on results of workshop on potential sources of financing
• Comments on report on the potential sources of financing of a comprehensive specimen referral systems

All deliverables shall be approved by Abt Associates, Inc. All deliverables shall be produced in English.

To apply, please send your application documents to Mr. Ben Johns with the following email: [email protected]

Deadline: open until filled

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews