Consultant (WHO)

Call for Expressions of Interest and Proposal

VN056 A Short-term Consultant to work with the National Hospital for Dermatology and Venereology (NHDV), Leprosy experts to support development of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) for elimination of Leprosy by 2030.

Background

Leprosy has been associated with mankind since time immemorial. Reference to leprosy can be traced back to earliest medical texts i.e. the Sushruta Samhita and the Charaka Samhita (dating from 600 BC and 300 BC respectively). Leprosy, or Hansen's Disease, is a communicable disease, caused by Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae), with a long incubation period. Leprosy is likely transmitted by droplets from the nose and mouth during prolonged and close contact with untreated leprosy patients. It affects the skin and peripheral nerves and, if untreated, can progress to permanent impairments to the skin, nerves, face, hands and feet, and to disabilities and social exclusion.

Following the successful introduction of multidrug therapy (MDT) in 1981, WHO strategies focused on reducing prevalence, initially to below 1 per 10 000 population, and then on further reducing new case detection, disability (especially among children), and stigma and discrimination. By 2015, the target of elimination as a public health problem had been achieved in almost all countries, at least at the national level. Some countries have achieved very low case numbers and may have interrupted community transmission. In recent years, a single dose of rifampicin as preventive chemotherapy has proven effective in reducing the risk of leprosy in contacts of leprosy patients. These developments have encouraged WHO to reset the target for leprosy as elimination, defined as no new autochthonous cases as a result of interruption of transmission.

In Viet Nam, Leprosy used to be considered one of four incurable diseases and has historically been associated with heavy social stigma and discrimination by the community. In 1982 the National leprosy control program (NLCP) was established, with the Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT) implemented one year later (in 1983) which marks a remarkable improvement in the epidemiology situation of the disease. As a result, Viet Nam achieved the elimination target at the national level in 1995 with a prevalence rate of 0.7 per 10,000 population. Viet Nam achieved the elimination target at provincial level in 2000. In the period 2016-2020, the prevalence of leprosy in the community decreased from 0.02 per 10,000 population to 0.01 per 10,000 population.

However, in the past two decades, Leprosy has slowly become a neglected tropical disease in Viet Nam. In some provinces where leprosy has been reportedly eliminated, new patients still appear; resources for the prevention and control of leprosy are reduced; discrimination against leprosy patients still exists in the community. As of 2020, the accumulated number of currently living leprosy patients is nearly 10,000 people, many of whom have disabilities and deformities. Due to the heavy stigma attached to this disease, even patients who completed treatment and were cured found themselves isolated from society, spending their whole remaining life in leprosy villages or leprosy colonies.

In order to move toward the vision of Zero leprosy: zero infection and disease, zero disability, zero stigma and discrimination, there is a need to develop a National Strategic Plan for Leprosy. It will be a comprehensive document that outlines the country's long-term goals, priorities, and strategies for achieving them. It will serve as a roadmap for guiding government policies, programs, and resource allocation to address Leprosy. This Strategy should be aligned with the Global Leprosy Strategy 2021-2030 and the WHO Roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030 aiming to achieve interruption of transmission of leprosy by 2030. The Strategy should focus on interruption of transmission and achieving zero indigenous cases. This could be done by accelerating case detection activities in high endemic districts and sustaining a strong surveillance system in low endemic districts result of this activity will be a basis for future comprehensive support activities in the country and contribute to the achievement of the goal of the National Leprosy program.

Planned timelines

Start date: 01 Nov 2023
End date: 31 Dec 2023

Work to be performed

Method(s) to carry out the activity

The contract holder, with technical support from WHO Viet Nam, will develop the National Strategic Plan based on WHO Global Leprosy Strategy 2021-2030 and the WHO Roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030. The contract holder will be under guidance from the WHO representative office in Viet Nam with the following activities:

Analyse the leprosy situation in consultation with WHO and National Dermatology hospital.
Develop the activity timeline.
Facilitate the consultative discussion to identify the key priorities and gaps to inform the development of the NSP for elimination of the Leprosy by 2030
Develop a draft NSP.
Share the draft NSP with WHO and key counterparts and collect inputs.
Incorporate the inputs and finalize the NSP.

Output/s

Analysis report on the prevalence and incidence rates, geographic distribution, high-risk populations, treatment outcomes, health system capacity, and existing policies and programs related to leprosy control.
Draft version of the NSP for Leprosy
Final version of the national strategic plan is prepared to be submitted to MOH for approval.
Final technical and financial report

Specific requirements

The selected service provider (contract holder) must have:

Team Leader’s requirements:

Essential: holds a PhD degree and/or a post graduate qualification in medicine with emphasis on dermatology diseases; has at least 10 years working experiences in clinical management, diagnosis, and treatment for dermatology diseases including leprosy; has directly been involved in and provided technical support for development of training materials and conducting training courses on dermatology diseases and leprosy.

Desirable:

Experience on development of the national strategic plan for priority public health program particularly on communicable diseases.
Experience on assessment/review of the health program, public health program related interventions particularly on communicable diseases.
Preference is given to expert(s) who have experience participating in the WHO supported activity.

Team members’ requirements:

Essential: hold a medical degree qualification; have at least 3 years’ experience in clinical management of dermatology diseases and leprosy; familiar with conducting training workshops and experienced in logistic arrangement.

Place of assignment

Hanoi

Cost

All bids will be evaluated based on the submitted proposals with detailed budget breakdown in term of the technical requirements, timeline, and value for money.

Travel

The service provider will work in Hanoi and travel to some provinces.

How to Apply

The agencies/institutions that are interested can submit your proposals indicating vacancy notice number and job title by 27 October 2023 and should be addressed to: Administrative Officer - World Health Organization -UN Building, 304 Kim Ma Street, Hanoi, Viet Nam OR wpvnmdc@who.int