Consultant - National Health Strategy, Nuku'alofa,Tonga
World Health Organization (WHO)
WP_TON Tonga
Consultancy Locallly Recruited Closing soon: 10 May 2024
The consultant will work with the WHO CLO Tonga, Division of the Pacific Technical Support Unit, with the executives and staff at the Ministry of Health (MoH) and with other key government and non-government stakeholders to design a new National Health Strategy for the Kingdom of Tonga from 2024 to 2030.
The Tonga NHSP 2015-2020 contributed to Tonga’s Strategic Development Framework (TSDFII). It provided strategic guidance on health system development in Tonga for approaching “Tonga Universal Health Coverage”. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need to respond to other natural disasters a new strategy has not been drafted. MoH Tonga is aiming to develop the next NHSP (2024-2030) which will guide health program plans and resource allocation to start in the Financial Year 2024-2025. As such, MoH has requested technical assistance from the World Health Organization (WHO) to support the development of the NHSP 2024-30, which will also include an implementation plan and monitoring and evaluation framework.
To develop the Tonga National Health Strategy (NHSP) 2024-2030 and the accompanying implementation plan and monitoring and evaluation framework, emphasizing country ownership, prioritization, and practical implementation throughout the process.
Output 1 : Assessment of the implementation of the NHSP 2015-2020
Deliverable 1.1: Conduct a comprehensive situation analysis that details health system issues, threats, functional capacity, gaps, and development needs in Tonga.
Deliverable 1.2: Conduct a desk or literature review of documents and past assessments, stakeholder interviews, and quantitative and qualitative data analysis using collected data.
Deliverable 1.3: Analyze the data and summarize the findings, including the stakeholder consultations needed to fill gaps in existing data.
Output 2: Comprehensive consultations with MOH and other key stakeholders to draft NHSP 2024- 2030 by generating the technical contents (e.g. strategic objectives, key programme areas, and outcomes) that are precise and achievable, and lead prioritization exercises to obtain consensus from stakeholders.
Deliverable 2.1: Develop high-level strategic objectives in consultation with the MoH leadership team and using the situation analysis findings. Conduct “back casting” to develop short- and medium-term objectives and generate detailed technical content through stakeholder consultations.
Deliverable 2.2: Facilitate the prioritization exercise on the draft contents, which includes wide stakeholder consultations (across national to subnational level, across government sectors, and with development partners and community leaders) and are based on agreed objective criteria, to generate NHSP contents:
that all parties agreed are critical and achievable and are committed to working towards them in the coming years; and
provide strategic and policy guidance to enable MoH to lead NHSP development, endorsement, implementation, and review, and to promote country ownership of NHSP.
Output 3: Implementation plan for the NHSP 2024- 2030 which will detail to: (1) key health initiatives from MoH and development partners, that will guide Tonga towards NHSP objectives; and (2) leadership and management systems (i.e., governance framework, policy, communication arrangements) that will enforce alignment of NHSP objectives with programme workplans and resource allocation.
Deliverable 3.1: Draft the implementation plan to include explicit guidance on the governance structure (e.g. institutional processes, policy development), resource allocation, and implementation steps that are needed to align programme initiatives from MoH and development partners with the NHSP.
Output 4: A monitoring and evaluation framework for the NHSP 2024- 2030 that will include: (1) monitoring and evaluation strategy and matrix with indicators selected based on objective criteria, and (2) established processes (e.g., roles, functions and responsibilities, standard procedure for data collection, interpretation, use, and reporting, and support of monitoring and evaluation functions within the proposed MoH Policy and Planning Unit) to implement the developed framework.
Deliverable 4.1: Draft monitoring framework with indicators the should be selected based on established criteria (e.g. alignment with NHSP objectives and implementation plan, data availability, alignment with established monitoring activities regionally and globally), with clear indicator definitions, and agreed upon by all stakeholders.
Output 5: An in-person stakeholder workshop to facilitate validation and agreement to the draft NHSP, including implementation plan and monitoring and evaluation framework before the documents are finalised and endorsed by MoH.
Deliverable 5.1: Conduct an in-person stakeholder workshop to facilitate validation and agreement to the draft NHSP.
Essential: Masters university degree in one of the health, social, or management sciences and a master’s degree in health governance, health policy, public health or other field related to public health from an accredited institution.
Essential: At least 10 years of international experience in areas related to health systems development, health governance, leadership, and health policy and planning. Experience should include direct implementation of health policies and plans, preferably through inclusive and participatory processes, and work with other sectors, in particular the social and economic sectors, to address the social determinants of health.
Desirable: Experience working with government and non-government organizations preferred
Expert knowledge of English (speak-read-write)
Off-site: Home-based
The consultant is expected to travel to Nuku’alofa and outer islands as required to get a better idea of the health systems.
Remuneration: Band level B: between USD 8,001 to USD 9,000 per month
Living expenses (A living expense is payable to on-site consultants who are internationally recruited): A daily allowance to cover living expenses will be payable to the consultant during their onsite time in Tonga. The exact amount will be determined at the time of payment, however, the current rate is USD 215/day and with an average of 20 working days/month.
Expected contract duration: 3 months
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