National consultants to develop the new Law on Diseases Prevention (#VN055) (WHO)

Call for Expressions of Interest

VN055: A national STC to provide nutrition expertise support to GDPM in development of the dossier for the proposal of development of the new Law on Disease Prevention.

Background

The Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (ID Law) was approved by the National Assembly on November 21st, 2007 and came into effect on July 1st, 2008. The ID Law focuses on prevention and control of communicable diseases, including communication and education, hygiene, surveillance, biosafety in laboratory testing, use of vaccine and biomedicals, infection prevention and control (IPC) in hospitals, border health quarantine, outbreak control measures, and other relevant regulations. During the period 2016-2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office in Viet Nam supported GDPM in the development of the proposal dossier for the development of the revised ID Law, which was appraised by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and submitted to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for consideration in 2018. However, the revised ID Law Project was not included in the 14th National Assembly agenda because priority was given to the revised Medical Examination and Treatment Law Project. This delay, though seemed unfortunate at the time, actually has presented us with a better opportunity to strengthen the legal framework for prevention and control of communicable diseases, taking into account the lessons identified from the COVID-19 pandemic response during which many shortcomings of the ID Law were revealed in the application of preventive and control measures. The Government and MOH have now given this task a high priority, with the approval of Decision No. 2215/QD-BYT dated 17/5/2023 of the Minister of Health promulgating the Plan for formulation of application for the Law on Disease Prevention Project (the Law Project), which sets the target for the Law Project to be included in the 15th National Assembly law development agenda for 2025. The objective of this short-term consultant position is to provide expertise inputs in the areas of nutrition to support GDPM in the development of the proposal dossier for the development of the new Law on Disease Prevention as described below.

Planned timelines (subject to confirmation)

45 full working days, intermittent until 31 Dec 2023:
Start date: 01/11/2023
End date: 31/12/2023

Work to be performed

Under the overall supervision of the Team Coordinator of WHO UHC-HLE in VNM and in coordination with the Division of Public Health and Nutrition as the assigned focal point at GDPM, the consultant is expected to undertake the tasks as described below.

Provide strategic advice and support to GDPM in compiling the proposal dossier for the development of the Law on Disease Prevention.
Work with GDPM in the process of review and revision of the proposal dossier based on the comments received from relevant stakeholders, particularly for the provisions of nutrition and related areas.
Participate in seminars, workshops, technical consultation meetings, etc. in the law development process and provide expertise inputs pertaining to nutrition and related areas.
Perform any other related duties, as required by the respective responsible officer and manager.

Method to carry out the activity

The consultant will work in close collaboration with WHO CO, GDPM and other experts and professional staff to support GDPM in the implementation of major steps in the law development process (Annex) covering steps I.1-3 including the development of the proposal dossier, providing justification or revision to the proposal dossier pursuant to comments from Ministries, sectors, stakeholders, and Ministry of Justice’s appraisal report related to nutrition. If all these steps can be completed before the end of the year, the consultant will continue to support step I.4 until the end of the contract. The consulted is expected to produce the following outputs/deliverables:

Outputs:

Output 1: Contribute to the development of the dossier for the development of the Law on Disease Prevention
- Deliverable 1: Report on the implementation of legal regulations on nutrition is reviewed and updated.
- Deliverable 2: Contents related to nutrition in all relevant documents in the proposal dossier are reviewed and updated. Draft outline of the new law, report to the Government, and impact assessment report are finalized for submission.
Output 2: Expertise inputs into all technical consultations in the process of the Law development pertaining but not limited to nutrition and final consultancy report
- Deliverable 3: Participate in seminars, workshops, technical meetings, etc. in the law development process and provide expertise inputs in nutrition, provide explanation and justification pursuant to comments from Ministries, sectors, stakeholders, and Ministry of Justice’s appraisal report (and Government’s comments if still within contract duration) related to nutrition.
- Deliverable 4: Perform any other related duties, as required by the respective responsible officer and manager

Specific requirements

a. Qualifications required:

Essential requirement: An advanced degree (Master’s level or above) in public health,epidemiology, medicine or related field from an accredited/recognized institute
Desirable: PhD in nutrition or medicine or public health.

b. Experience required: Essential:

Experience in developing and implementing guidelines, strategies and policies on nutrition, including in the intersectoral related nutrition issues to promote healthy behaviours and products, and reduce the availability of harmful products to health.
At least 10 years of experience in the field of nutrition.

Desirable:

10 years working experience in a management role at a nutrition related institute at national level.
Good cooperation and experience working with Departments under the Ministry ofHealth, relevant Ministries, Office of the Government and agencies of the National Assembly.
Experience in having presided over the development of legal document(s) in the field of nutrition

c. Skills / Technical skills and knowledge:

Ability to work independently and in groups.

d. Language requirements:

Fluent in written and verbal English.
Knowledgeable in English for public health related majors.

Place of assignment

Hanoi and will report to work/or meetings/workshops as and when required.

Medical clearance

The selected Consultant will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.

Travel

The Consultant is expected to travel upon request from GDPM and in an agreement with WHO.

Budget

Please take note of the following when submitting application: The contractor will be responsible for paying taxes, if any.

How to Apply

Those who are interested can submit your most updated CV and application letter indicating post title and vacancy notice # on or before 20 October and should be addressed to: