STC on human resource for health

1. Background The Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030, which was adopted by the sixty-ninth World Health Assembly in May 2016, set the four strategic objectives to ensure universal access to health workforce by 2030. Establishing regulatory mechanisms, such as licensing of health professionals and accreditation of health professional training programmes, and alignment of international standards for health professional education are key interventions for improving the quality of human resources for health in line with the Global Strategy. Well-trained health professionals, including medical doctors, nurses, and pharmacists are critical to delivering quality health care. Strengthening the health workforce is needed for Viet Nam to implement its grassroots healthcare and other health sector reforms. In October 2017, the 6th Plenary Session of the 12th Party Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam adopted a resolution on the protection, care and improvement of people’s health in the new situation (No 20–NQ/TW) which highlighted health professional education reform as one of the priorities for the country. The resolution includes establishing a national medical council to administer national licensing examinations and grant practice certificates according to international standards. In addition, the Ministry of Health has drafted the revised Law on Medical Examination and Treatment (LET), ưhich covers health workforce regulation and will be reviewed by the National Assembly in 2021. Based on request from the Ministry of Health, the WHO Representative Office in Viet Nam has provided technical assistance to the Government of Viet Nam in health professional education reform and health legislation in Viet Nam, including on the establishment of a health professional council. The continued areas of WHO support will entail, but will not be limited to, providing best practices on a national licensing examination and re-licensing system, case studies on health professional councils across countries, specialty training, and in-service training for primary health care. 2. Work to be performed Method(s) to carry out the activity The consultant can work remotely if needed. The work will involve but not be limited to; coordinating across partners, participating in meetings and workshops (remotely if needed), providing technical advice to documents and reports as required. The consultant will provide support to the UHC team and relevant MOH departments on health workforce regulation and planning. Output/s Under the overall supervision of the UHC Team Leader, the consultant will support the UHC team on the following outputs: Output 1: Technical support to health workforce regulation on establishment of regulatory authorities and national licensing and re-licensing systems for health practitioners Deliverable 1 – Technical brief on health workforce regulation based on international experiences and/or best practices on scope of practice of health practitioners, national licensing examination, and re-licensing systems (by 31 August 2020) Deliverable 2 – Comprehensive review and report on case studies of health professional councils across countries, including the history and political evolution, governance and financing mechanisms, and lessons on implementation (9 October 2020) Output 2: Technical support to the development of a roadmap for strengthening health workforce data and planning Deliverable 2 – Finalized roadmap for strengthening health workforce data and planning based on situation analysis and policy dialogue with multi-stakeholders (30 November 2020) Output 3: Technical support to the development of a medical specialty training framework Deliverable 3 – Report on medical specialty training frameworks from selected countries and applications to Viet Nam (31 December 2020) Output 4: Technical support for strengthening the health workforce at the primary care level in relation to medical education and training, including continuing professional development Deliverable 4 – Summary report on in-service training as a part of broader primary health care reform (29 January 2021) 3. Planned timelines (subject to confirmation) Start date: 31 July 2020 End date: 29 January 2021 4. Specific requirements a. Qualifications required: Essential: Bachelor degree in relevant areas including medicine, nursing, public health or education science from a recognised university. Desirable: Postgraduate degree in relevant areas including medicine, nursing, public health or education science from a recognised university. b. Experience required: Essential: At least 5 years of experience in relevant areas including public health, health policy development and medical education development. Desirable: Prior experience of working with the Government of Viet Nam or in the Western Pacific Region on health workforce related issues will be considered an advantage. c. Skills / Technical skills and knowledge:  Strong Analytical and communication skills  Ability to write, handle quantitative data and build conceptual models  Knowledge of the health system in Viet Nam desirable.  Specific technical knowledge with health information systems and health work force data bases considered an asset. d. Language requirements:  Expert written and spoken English e. Competencies  Excellent interpersonal and communication skills  Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team or independently  Produces results  Builds and promotes partnerships  Fosters integration and teamwork 5. Place of assignment Under the guidance of the UHC-HLE Team Coordinator and relevant technical staff, the consultant will be based off-site. 6. Travel The short-term consultant is not expected to travel based on current government restrictions, which may change. 7. Budget Please take note of the following when submitting application: - The contractor will be responsible for paying taxes, if any. Those who are interested can contact our focal person with contact detail at the end of the announcement before/by 21 July 2020 Administrative Officer World Health Organization UN Building, 304 Kim Ma Street, Hanoi, Viet Nam OR wpvnmapplicants@who.int For further information on this TOR, please contact: wpvnmwr@who.int