National Consultant to act as the national focal person for an assistive technology capacity assessment (ATA-C) to improve access to assistive technology in Viet Nam

Background Assistive technology (AT) is a subset of health technology that refers to assistive products and related systems and services developed for people to maintain or improve functioning and thereby promote well-being. Examples of assistive products include hearing aids, wheelchairs, communication software, spectacles, incontinence products, and pill organizers. It enables people with difficulties in functioning to live healthy, productive, independent and dignified lives, participating in education, the labour market and social life. Worldwide, over one billion people are in need of AT, a number predicted to rise to two billion by 2050 due to population ageing and a rise in non-communicable diseases. Yet, only one in every 10 people who need AT – to learn, to work or to fully participate in their communities – have access. This gap is even more prominent across low resourced settings, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In response, WHO established the Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE) initiative in 2014 to improve access to high-quality assistive products by focusing on five interlinked areas (5P): people-centered policy, products, provision, and personnel. The GATE initiative aims to provide technical assistance to Member States to meet their related commitments and realize strategic actions to improve access to AT. In May 2018, the Seventy-first World Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA71.8, urging Member States to take effective actions in developing, implementing, and strengthening policies and programmes that improve access to AT. To support AT policy and programme development, WHO has developed an assistive technology toolkit, which collects comprehensive information about population need for AT and the system’s capacity to finance, procure, and provide AT. One of the tools is the assistive technology capacity assessment (ATA-C). The ATA-C is a systems-level assessment of a country’s capacity to finance, procure, and provide assistive technology. It consists of a preparatory phase, data collection phase, reporting phase, and consensus building and action planning phase. In response to the request for technical assistance from the Ministry of Health Viet Nam, the ATA-C will be conducted jointly by the Ministry of Health, WHO and USAID’s implementing partner of the International Center working in the area of the AT and supported by a team of national and an international consultant. This term of reference is for a team of National consultants. Objectives of the consultancy activity

To be the national focal person for an assistive technology capacity assessment (ATA-C) to improve access to assistive technology in Viet Nam

Timelines: (subject to confirmation) Start date: 26 October 2020 End date: 31 March 2021 Attachment: Detailed call for expression of interest Address for Applications: Administrative Officer World Health Organization UN Building, 304 Kim Ma Street, Hanoi, Viet Nam Or by email at: wpvnmapplicants@who.int Application deadline: 07 October 2020