Consultant

at Unicef
Location Kampala, Uganda
Date Posted August 16, 2023
Category Training and Consultancy
Job Type FULL_TIME
Currency UGX

Description

Consultant to support the development of the Community Health Minimum Service Delivery Package and NCHS Implementation Guidelines 4 months (Ugandan Nationals only), Kampala

Closing date: Wednesday, 23 August 2023
Consultant to support the development of the Community Health Minimum Service Delivery Package and NCHS Implementation Guidelines, Kampala, Uganda, 4 months (Ugandan Nationals only)

Job no: 564886

Position type: Consultant

Location: Uganda Division/Equivalent: Nairobi Regn'l(ESARO)

School/Unit: Uganda

Department/Office: Kampala, Uganda

Categories: Health

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.

And we never give up.

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https://www.unicef.org/where-we-work

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Background and Purpose

Development of the National Community Health Strategy implementation guidelines The Government of Uganda, in line with the National Development Plan III (2021-2025), emphasizes the integration of services as a crucial aspect. Community-level health promotion and prevention programs have become national priorities for the health sector, aligned with the Government of Uganda's Vision 2040 and the goal of universal health coverage (UHC). By 2025, the government and stakeholders aim to enhance the capacity to provide integrated and quality health services, including preventive and promotional measures, at all levels of care, particularly within the community. Evidence-based decision-making and the availability of quality data are vital for improving service delivery.

To deliver high-quality and equitable health services, especially to vulnerable and rural communities, a robust community health system is essential. The Ministry of Health (MoH) has been supporting the Village Health Team (VHT) model since 2001. VHTs, as part of Uganda's Community Health Workforce, actively engage in promoting key family care practices and disease prevention. They also play a crucial role in Integrated Community Case Management (ICCM), providing treatment for common childhood illnesses among children under 5 years. VHTs, considered as the health care system level 1 (HC1), collaborate with various community resource persons, including local council leaders, religious leaders, and teachers. The strength of the community health system relies on the extent and effectiveness of linkages between political, technical, and administrative functions.

In February 2023, the Community Health Department in the MOH developed the first-ever National Community Health Strategy (NCHS) for the period 2021/22 - 2025/26. The strategy aims to align stakeholders toward delivering community-level health services, strengthening community health systems, and leveraging existing policies, guidelines, and experiences. It also facilitates coordination and harmonization with other sectors such as education, gender, water, and agriculture to ensure quality access to primary, promotive, curative, preventive, and rehabilitative healthcare services. The overarching goal is to strengthen Primary Health Care and achieve Universal Health Coverage.

To effectively implement the Community Health Strategy, the consultant will assist the Ministry of Health in developing implementation guidelines at the sub-national level, starting from the district down to the household level. The strategy, rooted in seven strategic directions, requires revitalizing each building block and strategic direction. While the NCHS has already been disseminated at the national level, the development of guidance is needed to operationalize the strategy and achieve its objectives at the sub-national level.

Purpose of Assignment and Scope: In close collaboration with UNICEF and MoH, the consultant will support MOH to develop guidelines and a road map for implementing the National Community Health Strategy.

Justification

The development of a National Community Health Strategy in Uganda has been a comprehensive and ongoing process spanning over five years. With the collaborative support of various partners, the Ministry of Health has formulated this strategy to drive a strategic shift from a predominantly curative approach to a more proactive focus on health promotion and prevention. This shift aligns with the global commitment to Primary Health Care (PHC) and community health, as highlighted in the post-Astana PHC Conference and reinforced by agencies like UNICEF and USAID. These agencies have not only reaffirmed their dedication but also increased their investments in promoting PHC and community health as essential strategies for achieving Universal Health Coverage and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

The Ministry of Health relies on the invaluable assistance of UNICEF, which has explicitly committed to providing technical and financial support to the Community Health and Planning Departments for the development of policies, strategies, and guidelines. This collaboration demonstrates a shared commitment to strengthening community health services and ensuring the successful implementation of the National Community Health Strategy.

To effectively realize the potential of the strategy, it is crucial to delve into the operationalization of its different strategic directions. This requires a detailed understanding of how the strategy will be executed at various levels, starting from the district, sub-county, parish, village, and down to the households. Developing implementation guidelines will facilitate the translation of strategic goals into actionable steps, enabling effective coordination and alignment of efforts at each level. By providing a clear roadmap for implementation, these guidelines will ensure that the desired goals and outcomes of the National Community Health Strategy are achieved throughout the country.

Objectives

Main Objective: The main objective of this consultancy is to support the Government of Uganda in developing comprehensive minimum health services package at community level and implementation guidelines for the National Community Health Strategy (NCHS). These will serve as guiding documents for the successful operationalization of the NCHS, ensuring its effective implementation across all levels of care, from the national level down to the household level. The consultant will work closely with the Community Health Department and collaborate with stakeholders to provide technical guidance and expertise in developing these guidelines.

Specific Objectives:

Review key global and national strategic documents covering the period up to 2030 to identify goals, targets, commitments and priority strategic actions that will inform the content of the NCHS Implementation guidelines.1
Lead the development of an integrated Community Health package to incorporate multi-sectoral programmes and services at the community level. This should articulate linkages between essential community health services from other departments and stakeholders and package with the implementation guidelines.

Lead the development of clear and detailed Community Health implementation guidelines complete with supervision and information flow that outlines the last-mile implementation strategies in both urban and rural settings. The guidelines should articulate linkages with and ensure alignment with the Parish Development Model and HIDH strategies
Seek and incorporate stakeholder inputs, feedback and recommendations on the NCHS implementation guidelines, ensuring that the perspectives and expertise of various stakeholders are incorporated.
Recommend a timeline for the staged rollout of the guidelines, outlining the necessary cascade training-of-trainers (TOTs) and implementation processes from the national level down to the household level.
Prepare a comprehensive presentation for the Community Health Worker Technical Working Group at the Ministry of Health, providing a step-by-step process for implementing the NCHS at all levels and presenting a roadmap for the rollout of the strategy.
The Community Health Department of the Ministry of Health will be the counterpart and the consultant will work closely with the focal point from the department in the execution of this assignment:

Liaise with MoH and key stakeholders,
Organize stakeholder consultations