National Consultant to Provide Technical Support on the Management of ARV Provision through Social Health Insurance

I. Background

The global USAID LHSS project helps low- and middle-income countries transition to sustainable, self-funded health finance systems that support high-performing overall health systems. The LHSS activity in Vietnam will work with the Government of Vietnam (GVN) to advance greater local ownership of HIV and TB prevention and control. Led by Abt Associates, the four-year activity will support Vietnam in increasing its domestic financing for HIV and TB services in the context of declining donor funding, in using government resources more efficiently, and in assuming local ownership of HIV and TB prevention and control activities. Specific objectives are: (1) Support the GVN to strengthen its public financial management systems for public sector health and find greater efficiencies in social health insurance (SHI), (2) Increase and improve the efficiency of domestic financing of HIV prevention and treatment services; (3) Strengthen the capacity of Vietnam’s supply chain management system; and (4) Integrate TB services into SHI.

In Vietnam, Social Health Insurance (SHI) began providing antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in March 2019. Since then, the number of medicines and the number of health facilities providing SHI ARV has increased annually. The VAAC tool for ARV management and information tracking system (HMED) is not yet fully developed, while MOH requirements for health facilities to report include not only VSS claims on ARV but also the actual quantity that they receive from suppliers. In the context of lacking a tool and a system like that, VAAC still collects data and information manually from health facilities as these are required for reallocation decisions. Due to resource constraints, VAAC has requested LHSS support for technical assistance to work on (1) Information management on ARV dispensing and (2). ARV supply management for medicine procured through the SHI fund.

II. Objectives and tasks of the assignment

a.     Objective

To provide technical support to MOH/VAAC on monitoring the provision of ARVs procured through the Social Health Insurance.

b.     Tasks

• Management on ARV supply and dispensing at national level
  
  • Track and follow up with health facilities to update data in VAAC’s ARV management tool (HMED)
  • Track and follow up with the awarded contractors to distribute medicine according to plan
  • Collect and review delivery notes from the awarded contractors to health facilities.
  • Check and compare drug quantity supplied by awarded contractors with the drug quantity in the ARV supply plan. Identify reasons and causes for the difference in the quantity if any.
  • Assess delivery progress and quantity, identify bottlenecks and report them to VAAC for solutions.
  • Aggregate the total drugs that awarded contractors provide to health facilities.
  • Collect feedback from health facilities about the performance of the awarded contractors (delay, insufficient quantity, etc.) and support VAAC in troubleshooting those issues.

• Follow up and update on the progress of SHI ARV procurement
  
  • Update progress of SHI ARV procurement and supply at the national level if any to support VAAC’s sharing to implementing partners on quarterly or ad-hoc basic
  • Identify and report bottlenecks in SHI ARV procurement and supply to VAAC. Summarize all taken solutions on ARV procurement and supply issues to VAAC.

III. Deliverables

IV. Management of this assignment

All deliverables must be reviewed and approved by the LHSS Supply Chain Lead. The consultant will work closely with the Viet Nam Authority of HIV/AIDS Control, and the SHI verification and multi-line payment center provinces are relevant.

V. Location and Timing

1. Location 

The work will be carried out in Hanoi.

2. Timing  

The assignment is planned for the period from December 2021 through September 2022, with a total of up to 120 working days

VI. Requirements

• Graduate degree in public health, pharmacy, or relevant disciplines.
• Good understanding of the national HIV/AIDS program.
• Familiarity with supply management, health information systems, and the social health insurance scheme.
• Demonstrate ability to work effectively with government agencies, including the MOH/VAAC, health facilities, and provincial authorities.
• Language requirement: Vietnamese. The ability to speak and write English would be an advantage.

To apply, please send your application documents to the following email:

[email protected]

Deadline: 21 November 2021

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews.