Purpose of the contract

The general purpose of this consultancy is to support the Health Law and Ethics Unit as it provides technical assistance to countries and areas of the Western Pacific in strengthening legal frameworks to achieve health in the Sustainable Development Goals through the Asia-Pacific Parliamentarian Forum on Global Health. The specific purposes are to (1) provide technical inputs for the 4th Meeting of the Forum; (2) provide technical inputs to national health authorities’ efforts to strengthen health systems that provide universal health coverage through public policy and law, with the Philippines as an example for learning-by-doing, as will be highlighted at the 4th Meeting; and (3) network and coordinate with experts to help translate key health systems concepts into policy instruments that are specific to country contexts, as may be raised by countries at the 4th Meeting.    
Background:  
Health system strengthening (HSS) is the process of identifying and implementing the changes in policy and practice in a country’s health system (institutions, people and actions), so that the country can respond better to its health and health system challenges. HSS implies mobilizing or better prioritizing the allocation of financial resources for health, as well as building the capacities of health systems in a variety of institutional, economic, fiscal, and political contexts. Some countries are more advanced in the process, while others are still facing fatal gaps that need to be addressed in order to improve population health. In the SDG era, public policy and regulation (including legislation) are increasingly important in HSS, especially with regard to leveraging other traditionally “non-health” sectors to attain universal health coverage (UHC). Regulation represents a key means by which a government gives effect to its health policy preferences, especially through the exercise of a government’s law-making powers. It is a key lever for governments to affect the quantity, quality, safety and distribution of services in health systems. 
 
There is also a need for enhanced multi-sectoral cooperation to achieve common goals and objectives with effects on population and individual health outcomes. Experience shows that the necessary dialogue is as much a political process as a technical one. The balance between vision and policy, and operational detail and implementation arrangements, varies considerably from country to country, as well as within the same country over time. 
 
In 2015, members of parliament (MPs) from Australia, Cambodia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Malaysia, with support from the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WHO WPRO) and other partners established the Asia-Pacific Parliamentarian Forum on Global Health (“Forum”) as a platform for parliamentarians to exchange ideas, build political will, strengthen capacities, and foster collaboration in driving sustainable action for health. The Forum is a means for WHO to support national health authorities’ efforts through a whole-of-government approach to strengthen health systems that provide universal health coverage through public policy 
and law. The Director-General has identified this kind of support to national health authorities as a top priority: specifically, to support them as they enact policies aimed at ensuring health coverage. 
 
The Philippines will host the fourth meeting of the Forum in Manila, from 23 to 24 August 2018.  The meeting will be jointly hosted by the chairs of the Health and Demography Committee of the Senate and the Health Committee of the House of Representatives, with support from the Philippine Department of Health, in collaboration with WHO.  The theme will be: The Role of Parliamentarians in Strengthening Financing and Regulation for Universal Health Coverage. The meeting will be an opportunity to highlight successes and challenges in the Philippines to strengthen financing and regulation for UHC, such as the recent taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages, which may generate keen interest among other countries and thus require support to properly document, disseminate, and in certain cases formulate actionable recommendations for consideration of MPs and national health authorities on how to strengthen their health systems through public policy and law.  The meeting will also aim to build domestic support in the Philippines to accelerate on-going legal reforms, such as a bill for UHC, bills on health financing and service delivery architecture, and other bills with more specific programmatic themes (e.g. mental health, maternal and child health, etc.). 
 
Planned timelines 
 
Start date:   16 July 2018 End date:  15 January 2019 
 
Work to be performed Method(s) to carry out the activity Under the direct supervision of the Technical Officer, Legislation & Regulation, Division of Health Systems, WPRO and the WHO Representative to the Philippines, the consultant shall be deployed to the WHO Philippines Country Office from where s/he shall work on the following: 
 
Output/s Output 1: Provide technical inputs for the 4th Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentarian Forum on Global Health and its documentation Deliverable 1.1: Progress report including notes for the record (NFRs) from planning meetings, finalized programme and draft Meeting Report from the 4th Forum Deliverable 1.2: Progress report on technical and secretariat support provided to the Forum 
 
Output 2: Provide technical inputs to national health authorities’ efforts to strengthen health systems that provide universal health coverage through public policy and regulation, with the Philippines as an example for learning-by-doing Deliverable 2.1: Progress report on the universal health coverage and other health-related bills pending in the Philippine Congress, focusing on those in advanced stages of legislation and identifying areas for enhanced multi-sectoral cooperation  Deliverable 2.2: Technical report detailing observations and experience in the legislative process for universal health coverage and other health-related bills in the Philippine Congress, including recommendations on how other countries may move similar legislation forward 
 
Output 3: Network and coordinate with experts to help translate key health systems concepts into policy instruments that are specific to country contexts Deliverable 3.1: Draft parliamentarian briefing notes on policy areas relevant to the theme of the 4th Meeting 
Deliverable 3.2: Progress report on technical assistance provided to the Philippine DOH and other Ministries of Health on the translation of key health systems concepts into policy instruments that are specific to their country’s contexts 
 
Technical Supervision 
 
The selected contractor will work on the supervision of:
Responsible Officer:  Dr Ki-hyun HAHM Technical Officer, Legislation & Regulation 
Email: [email protected] 

Manager: Dr Vivian LIN Director for Health Systems 
Email: [email protected] 
 
Specific Requirements 
 
- Qualifications required:  Advanced university degree in public health or allied medical field, or law.  
- Experience required: Minimum of five (5) years’ work experience in public health including health systems administration, health systems strengthening, legal reform for health, and multi-stakeholder collaborative projects at country and international levels. Experience working with Ministries of Health and Parliaments, preferably Philippine Department of Health and Philippine Congress.   - Skills / Technical skills and knowledge: Ability to draft technical papers, concept notes and technical reports; ability to prepare and deliver presentations to various stakeholders including high-level policymakers such as Ministers of Health, and Members of Parliament, among others.   
- Language requirements: Proficient knowledge of English (reading, writing, speaking) is required. Working knowledge of Filipino is an advantage. 
 
Competencies 
 
1) Communicating in a credible, effective, and culturally competent way 2) - Moving forward in a changing environment 3) - Fostering integration and teamwork 4) - Producing results 
 
Place of assignment 
 
WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific (60%) and  Office of the WHO Representative to the Philippines (40%). 
 
Medical Clearance 
 
The selected Consultant will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work. 
 
Travel 
 
The contractual partner may be requested to undertake overseas/foreign travel as part of the engagement. The specific destinations cannot be foreseen at the start of the engagement. While the place of assignment is principally in Manila, some within country travel is potentially foreseen due to the nature of the work but is not yet determined at this point.  
 
Application

Interested should submit the following documents to the Supply Officer (WPRO) at [email protected] by 18June 2018.  Please use Tender Notice No. 72910 as subject to all submission.
 
* Expression of interest (cover letter) that includes a short proposal and estimated budget breakdown. 
* WHO personal history form or CV 
 
Please note that the application may be closed before the indicated closing date if a sufficient number of applications are received. Only the successful candidates will be contacted.