Regional Study of the Impact of COVID19 on Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health and Nutrition Services in The Latin America and Caribbean Region.

1.    Background  Purpose: Regional Study of the Impact of COVID19 on Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health and Nutrition Services in The Latin America and Caribbean Region.

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is one of the regions most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With only 8% of the world population, the region has about 20% of all cases in the world, and about 30% of all deaths. with over 32 million cases and over a million deaths reported by mid-May 2021[1]As a consequence of government containment measures and population fears of infection, the availability, access and use (summarized as “coverage”) of health services decreased in most countries. A global modelling study estimated that this reduced coverage could lead to more than 52,000 additional child deaths in the second half of 2020 in the LAC region.[i] UNICEF staff of all LAC countries and territories estimated this impact in regular surveys[ii] , and in a multi-region exercise UNICEF was also able to obtain data from health information systems in 9 LAC countries, home to 33% of under-five mortality in the region, confirming the reduced coverage of key health services as well as recovery over time for immunization services.

[iii]In this context, UNICEF’s Regional Office for the Latin America and the Caribbean (LACRO) is planning to conduct a retrospective analysis of the coverage of essential maternal, newborn and child and adolescents health services in selected countries, and where possible also maternal, newborn, child and adolescent mortality reported in the region in 2020, compared to previous years

The work will be conducted in LAC and coordinated by the Regional Office, in close coordination with the relevant Country Office colleagues, as well as with UNICEF’s headquarters and  experts from other relevant organizations,  to ensure alignment with global efforts in this area, lead by sister agencies   PAHO, WHO and UNFPA. The WHO guidance, prepared with significant inputs from UNICEF and designed to enable national and subnational decisions makers to monitor the effects of COVID-19 on essential services, will be used as a reference.[iv]

PURPOSE:

Under the supervision of the LAC Regional MNCH Specialist, the objective of this institutional assignment is to conduct a Regional Study of the Impact of COVID19 on Maternal, New-born, Child, and Adolescent Health and Nutrition Services in Latin America and Caribbean.

1. To calculate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and government response measures on the coverage of key maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health and nutrition services in at least 10 countries in the LAC region in 2020, in comparison to 2019.
2. To estimate the possible impact of COVID-19 on stillbirths, maternal, newborn, child, adolescent, and youth mortality in 2020, compared to 2019, in at least 10 countries in the LAC region.
3.  Identify regional barriers and opportunities, that will contribute to the development of LACRO’s and individual countries’ strategy and framework that minimize the impact of COVID-19.

The information gathered from this study will be used to inform ongoing and future response strategies to the COVID19 pandemic and other health emergencies.

2.           Solicitation

2.1       The purpose of this Request for Proposals for Services (“RFPS”) is to invite proposals for the " Approach and guidance development to engage with cities committed to improve urban food environments and prevent childhood overweight and obesity in Latin America and the Caribbean detailed in the Terms of Reference/Statement of Work attached at Annex B].

2.2       This RFPS document is comprised of the following:

• This document
• The UNICEF General Terms and Conditions of Contract (Services) which are attached as Annex A
• The full Terms of Reference/Statement of work attached at Annex B
• MDM Vendor Template Annex C
• Online registration to UNGM -United Nations Global Market – link: https://www.ungm.org/Account/Registration

2.3         This RFPS is an invitation to treat and shall not be construed as an offer capable of being accepted or as creating any contractual, other legal or restitution rights.  No binding contract, including a process contract or other understanding or arrangement, will exist between the Proposer and UNICEF and nothing in or in connection with this RFPS shall give rise to any liability on the part of UNICEF unless and until a contract is signed by UNICEF and the successful Proposer.

PART II – PROPOSAL SUBMISSION PROCESS

1.           Proposal Submission Schedule

CONTRACTUAL PROCESS

The schedule of the contractual process is as follows:

ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE:

1.   Send Proposal: 15.06.2021

2.   Questions and Answer if necessary: Until June 25th, 2021 before 23:59 (Panama Time)

3.    Consolidates Q & A posted in UNGM: June 28, 2021.

4.    Deadline for Proposals: July 02nd, 2021 before 23:59 (Panama Time)

5.    Proposals Review: July 05th –08th, 2021. approximately

6.    Award Notice sent and posted in UNGM: July 09th,2021. approximately

7.    Contract begins July 15th, 2021 approximately.

1. Acknowledgement of receipt of RFPS.  Proposers are requested to inform UNICEF as soon as possible by EMAIL to at [email protected]  that they have received this RFPS. 

IMPORTANT: PROPOSALS ARE NOT TO BE SENT TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS STATED ABOVE – ANY PROPOSALS SENT TO THE ABOVE EMAIL ADDRESS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

1. Questions from Proposers.  Proposers are required to submit any questions in respect of this RFPS by email: [email protected]  with LRPS-2021-9167667.

1. The deadline for receipt of any questions is 25th June,2021 BEFORE 23:59 PANAMA TIME.

IMPORTANT: PROPOSALS ARE NOT TO BE SENT TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS STATED ABOVE – ANY PROPOSALS SENT TO THE ABOVE EMAIL ADDRESS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

Proposers are required to keep all questions as clear and concise as possible.  

Proposers are also expected to immediately notify UNICEF in writing of any ambiguities, errors, omissions, discrepancies, inconsistencies or other faults in any part of the RFPS, providing full details. Proposers will not benefit from such ambiguities, errors, omissions, discrepancies, inconsistencies or other faults.

UNICEF will compile the questions received. UNICEF may, at its discretion, at once copy any anonymized question and its reply to all other invited Proposers and/or post these on the UNICEF website and/or respond to the question at a bid conference. After any such bid conference, a Questions and Answers document may be prepared and posted on the UNICEF website.

1.4         Amendments to RFPS Documents.  At any time prior to the Submission Deadline, UNICEF may, for any reason, whether at its own initiative or in response to a clarification requested by a prospective Proposer, modify the RFPS documents by amendment. If the RFPS was available publicly online, amendments will also be posted publicly online. Further, all prospective Proposers that have received the RFPS documents directly from UNICEF will be notified in writing of all amendments to the RFPS documents. In order to afford prospective Proposers reasonable time in which to take the amendment into account in preparing their Proposals, UNICEF may, at its sole discretion, extend the Submission Deadline.

1.5         Bid conference.  A bid conference will NOT be held.

1.6       Submission Deadline.  The deadline for submission of proposals is as follows:

Before 23:59 Panama City Time. 02nd July 2021. At email [email protected]

Any proposals received by UNICEF after the Submission Deadline will be rejected.

It is extremely important that you send your technical and economic proposal in separate emails. The title of the mail should start with the reference number of this RFP, that is, LRPS-2021-9167667 plus the name of the service or bid, example, LRPS-2021-9167667 – Regional approach and guidance development to engage with cities committed to improve urban food environments and prevent childhood overweight and obesity in Latin America and the Caribbean