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Ref.
2024/ECDPDPALCDSM/11700

Job offer type
Experts

Type of contract
Service contract

Activity sectors
Environment and health ; Maternal, neonatal, and children health (MNCH) ; Health systems

Sub-theme
Disaster preparedness and response ; Health systems financing ; Health systems governance ; Health workforce ; Health services delivery ; Public health services ; Primary health care ; Nursing and midwifery ; Health technologies and medicines

Deadline date
2024/08/25 10:28

Duration of the assignment
Short term

Contract
Freelancer

Duration
30 jours

Mission description

This service is part of the preparatory study for the project to rebuild the Melsisi health centre and provide support for its reopening. For Axis 5 " support programme for the reopening of the health centre ", the expected deliverables are described below:

 

3.    Deliverable 1: Methodological proposal, detailing the working approach, the tools, the methodology envisaged and the detailed work schedule.

2.    Deliverable 2: The project's medical and organisational guidelines report. In particular, this deliverable must

  • Confirm the health project and the health centre's strategic orientations with the authorities, in order to define the health care offer according to the needs of the population, the local environment and the positioning of the health centre in its area. The project will have to identify the health priorities to which the centre will contribute by integrating the resources and skills available.
  • In view of the site's remote location, the telecoms aspect will also need to be taken into account, particularly the use of e-health as a means of improving access to care. This section will identify possible and desirable cooperation with other healthcare facilities.
  • Confirm with the authorities the size of the centre and the resources required to meet the centre's expected activities.
  • Identify the consequences for patient flows and the organisation of activities (prevention, care) where appropriate.

 

3.    Deliverable 3: A report on the actions to be taken to ensure the sustainability of the project, the governance plan and the operating budget for the facility at the end of each phase:

  • Identify who will benefit from the project in the sense of: the project owner on the one hand and the operator on the other, and carry out an assessment of the operator's strengths and weaknesses (proposing corrective measures); and propose, in the light of these elements, an appropriate operating mode between the project owner, the operator and potential stakeholders and possible ways of strengthening them.
  • Propose adjustments to the mode of governance, both functionally and contractually;
  • Analyse the structure's existing financial data (annual budgets, balance sheets and certified accounts), which will enable the risk to be assessed in relation to the long-term viability of the operation;
  • Propose a budget that takes into account the attendance and use of health services and other public health services, whether or not they are subsidised by the State or other partners (surveillance, vaccination, prevention campaigns, etc.); and that guarantees the correct distribution of income and expenditure between the project operators;
  • Ensure consistency between the human resources available, their skills and the size of the infrastructure;

 

4.    Deliverable 4: The proposal report for technical support for the opening of the centre should include technical assistance for the health centre's manager and health professionals, in order to optimise the sustainability of the project. The study will have to size this technical assistance according to the needs identified, while taking into account the constraints linked to transport costs and local living conditions.

This technical support programme for the opening, aimed at the establishment's teams, should make it possible, among other things, to:

  • Ensure a good match between the skills of the teams, the needs of the population and the priority activities expected;
  • Proposals to make the centre and the island more attractive to healthcare professionals and, more generally, to improve territorial coverage in terms of healthcare professionals.
  • Updating the establishment's statutes and regulations (taking care to address gender issues);
  • Training in governance issues and tools, if necessary;
  • Training in maintenance issues;
  • Training/changes in organisation, if necessary;
  • In addition to the transmission of epidemiological and health data, telemedicine support may be envisaged as part of the healthcare provision, and will therefore require an appropriate communication system (VSAT or other);

Project or context description

In April 2020, the passage of Cyclone Harold over the northern islands of Vanuatu destroyed half of the school buildings and medical infrastructure, including the buildings of the Melsisi health centre, located on the island of Pentecost, exacerbating the vulnerability of communities in remote areas. During the French President's visit to Vanuatu in July 2023, a commitment was made to rebuild the improved Melsisi health centre. 

The Melsisi health centre, on the island of Pentecost, is run by a Catholic mission which has an operating agreement with the Ministry of Health. The estimated population of the Melsisi health area is less than 10,000. The health centre is under the administrative and technical supervision of the Penama Provincial Health Department, which in principle provides and pays for the staff, comprising a prescribing nurse, a midwife, two nurses, a community health worker and a driver. It is planned to rebuild an "improved" health centre, which will require the presence of a doctor, although the mobilisation and training of health human resources in Melsisi will be one of the key challenges of the project.

In this context, the project aims to improve access to quality healthcare in Vanuatu, through :

1.       Rebuilding the Melsisi health centre;
2.       Support for its opening and commissioning;
3.       Support, where necessary, to strengthen nursing training.

The project will also try to take account of gender issues specific to the sector and will incorporate climate challenges by improving the resilience of the infrastructure built. One of the challenges of the study's initial diagnosis will also be to analyse access to healthcare for the people of Melsisi.

The aim of this service is therefore to carry out the preparatory study for the project to rebuild the Melsisi health centre, and to provide support for its reopening. In this context, Expertise France is seeking to mobilise French and regional public and/or private and/or Vanuatu-based expertise (preferably already based in Vanuatu or in the Pacific region) to respond to the areas of intervention of this study (see below):

i.            Diagnostic components:

  • Component 1: Diagnosis and improvement of knowledge of the health system :
  • Component 2: Study of climatic vulnerabilities and formulation of proposals for action to manage the project's risks;
  • Component 3: Study of gender vulnerabilities and proposal for a gender action plan.

ii.            Formulation priorities :

- Component 4: feasibility of rehabilitating the health centre while ensuring its climatic resilience ;
- Component 5: development of a support programme for the opening;
- Component 6 (optional): Support for the training of health human resources

The proposed technical assistance will have to take into account the requests made by the Vanuatu counterparts during the initial discussions to be held in the summer of 2024, as well as any strategic documents that may be shared.

Required profile

Expertise France is looking for expertise in the development of medical and strategic projects for health establishments and territories. The service provider will have to mobilise the following skills:

  • Physician or Director of Care with management and coordination duties and/or responsibilities, particularly in the implementation of hospital medical and nursing projects or regional medical and nursing projects, combined with professional experience in a healthcare establishment ;
  • Experience in public health strategy, including management of facility and regional projects;
    Experience in reorganising health structures, defining the health priorities to be addressed or in managing organisational audits of structures ;
  • Experience, where applicable, in preparing for the opening of health or medico-social establishments, with an infrastructure component ;
  • Conducting needs and organisation assessments, analysing and planning resources ;
    Expertise in HRH issues (management and training) ;
  • Professional experience in the field of digital health and information technology in the health sector would be an asset.

 

Knowledge of health issues in the South Pacific region and experience of working in Vanuatu or the neighbouring region is strongly recommended.

Additional information

The experts' application must include :

- CV of the team of experts, including references ;
- Profile of the applicant organisation;
- A signed and scanned technical proposal presenting the understanding of these terms of reference, a description of the envisaged methodology, a risk analysis, a description of the division of labour between the experts, a provisional timetable and a budget.

A technical proposal and a financial proposal must be submitted by the deadline by email to the following address: nicolas.andrade@expertisefrance.fr 

Selection criteria for applications

The selection process for candidates will be based on the following criteria :

  • Candidate’s training/skills/experience
  • Candidate’s skills linked with the expert mission
  • Candidate’s experiences linked with the expert mission
  • Candidate's knowledges related to local context (country or region intervention)
  • Candidate’s understanding of cooperation project stakes
  • Candidate’s understanding of the mission’s role in the cooperation project

Deadline for application : 2024/08/25 10:28

Expertise France is the public agency for designing and implementing international technical cooperation projects. The agency operates around four key priorities :

  • democratic, economic, and financial governance ;
  • peace, stability, and security ;
  • climate, agriculture, and sustainable development ;
  • health and human development ;

In these areas, Expertise France conducts capacity-building initiatives and manages project implementation, leveraging technical expertise and acting as a project coordinator. This involves combining public sector expertise with private sector skills to drive impactful results. 

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