Consultant – Country support on Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology

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Purpose of the Consultancy

 

The consultant will provide technical support in the development, implementation and monitoring of national strategic plans for rehabilitation and assistive technology, in line with the recommendations of the Western Pacific Regional Framework on Rehabilitation.  It will also provide support for two areas of work being led by WHO HQ in relation to Rehabilitation 2030 and the resolution WHA 76.6 ‘strengthening rehabilitation in health systems’.

 

Background

 

Among the many and diverse health needs populations currently experience, those that require rehabilitation are going largely unmet. Lack of access to skilled rehabilitation workers and assistive technology, as well as maldistribution of services and financial barriers prevent people from receiving the care they need, when and where they need it. The WHA resolution on strengthening rehabilitation in health systems calls for expanding and integrating rehabilitation as part of UHC, emphasizing the importance of rehabilitation in primary care and as part of emergency preparedness and response. The ambitions of the resolution are further reflected in the Western Pacific Regional Framework for Rehabilitation, which provides recommendations for WHO and Member States to strengthen 1) Rehabilitation service availability and quality; 2) Rehabilitation governance and financing; 3) Rehabilitation workforce; and 4) Rehabilitation data and research.

 

The Health Policy and Service Design (HPS) Unit under the Division of Health Systems supports Member States to develop and implement policies, strategies, and plans and service delivery design, to strengthen health systems to deliver universal health coverage. Part of its mandate is to provide technical support in the planning, implementation and monitoring of priority actions under the Western Pacific Regional Framework on Rehabilitation, in accordance with country-specific needs and priorities.

 

Under the oversight of the responsible officer, the consultant is expected to support Member States and rehabilitation stakeholders in planning, implementing, and evaluating activities that seek to expand the integration of rehabilitation and assistive technology in health systems. The consultant will also support roll out of related WHO technical products to strengthen rehabilitation governance, financing, information, workforce, assistive products and service delivery.

 

With regard to the two activities being undertaken at a global level; the consultant is expected to finalize work on a technical note for rehabilitation in national health accounts and finalize drafting version 2 of the Rehabilitation in Health Systems: Guide for Action. These are two important products that are being developed or revised to strengthen global, regional and country capacities to strengthen rehabilitation within health systems.

Deliverables

 

The consultant will provide support to the Western Pacific Regional Office and its Member States and WHO HQ in efforts to strengthen health systems to deliver quality rehabilitation and assistive technology, based on request and need. The consultant may be called on to perform the following activities:

 

Output 1: Country support to Member States in the development or ongoing implementation of their national rehabilitation strategic plans. Specifically:

 

• Provide technical support to the WHO Country Office, Ministry of Health and relevant stakeholders in Cambodia to develop a national strategic plan and monitoring and evaluation framework for rehabilitation and assistive technology utilizing the WHO Rehabilitation in Health Systems: Guide for Action and ATA-C methodology and tools;
• Provide technical support to the Country Office, Ministry of Health and relevant stakeholders in Laos PDR to implement a national rehabilitation workforce evaluation, training in assistive products to select health personnel, and expand access to rehabilitation in primary care;

   

• Provide technical support to the WHO Country Office, Ministry of Health and relevant stakeholders in Mongolia to hold a national workshop on rehabilitation and assistive technology and establish a short-term action plan to facilitate the implementation of the national rehabilitation strategic plan;
• Provide technical support to the WHO Country Office and Ministry of Health in Viet Nam in the implementation of their national rehabilitation action plan as requested;
• Provide technical support to the WHO Country Office, Ministry of Health and Pacific partners in the implementation of Fiji’s national rehabilitation and disability inclusion strategic plan and in the planning and establishment of a rehabilitation telehealth service;
• Provide technical support to the WHO Country Office, Ministry of Health and Pacific partners in the implementation of the Solomon Island’s national rehabilitation and disability inclusion strategic plan; and
• Provide technical support to the WHO Country Office, Ministry of Health and Pacific partners in Papua New Guinea to develop a national strategic plan and monitoring and evaluation framework for rehabilitation and assistive technology utilizing the WHO Rehabilitation in Health Systems: Guide for Action and ATA-C methodology and tools.
  • Deliverable 1.1: Progress reports on the implementation of national rehabilitation strategic plan objectives for Cambodia, Laos PDR, Viet Nam, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.

  • Deliverable 1.2: Detailed proposal and activity plan for the establishment of a rehabilitation telehealth service in Fiji.

 

Output 2: Support countries in building capacity to deliver rehabilitation in primary care. Specifically:

 

• Work with collaborating centres to generate and analyze quantitative and qualitative data on rehabilitation and assistive technology in primary care;
• Facilitate community consultations and planning for progressive integration of rehabilitation in primary care;
• Establish monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for capturing the delivery and impact of rehabilitation and assistive technology in primary care; and
• Support countries in implementing capacity building tools, including the Training in Assistive Products (TAP) and the Basic Rehabilitation Package (BPR) resources, as requested.
  • Deliverable 2.1: Activity reports of technical support provided to countries.
  • Deliverable 2.2: Training reports for implementation of TAP and BRP, including evaluation.

 

Output 3: Finalize a WHO Technical Note on the integration of rehabilitation in national health accounts. 

 

• Work with collaborating partners to draft the technical note;
• Support organization of a technical meeting to review the draft; and
• Coordinate review and support finalization of the Technical Note, including the publishing process.
  • Deliverable 3.1 First draft of Technical Note.

  • Deliverable 3.2 Technical meeting to review draft technical note. 

  • Deliverable 3.3 Final draft of Technical Note, including its design and the WHO publication.

Output 4. Support the review of the WHO Rehabilitation Guide for action and undertake drafting of Version 2.  

• Coordinate review process, with initial focus on the assessment and strategic planning phase of the Rehabilitation Guide for Action, compile feedback on product.
• Draft the updated version of the product.
• Support organization of a technical meeting to review the updated draft.
  • Deliverable 4.1 First draft of Version 2 of the WHO Rehabilitation Guide for Action.
  • Deliverable 4.2. Technical meeting to review updated version.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

 

Educational Qualifications:  

 

Essential: Advanced university degree in a rehabilitation science, such as rehabilitation medicine, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, prosthetics and orthotics, and/or public health, health policy or similar and advanced degree in public health or a related field

 

Experience 

 

Essential: Minimum ten years relevant experience in rehabilitation and assistive technology, health policy, strategic planning, or similar; providing relevant technical support to countries; and related experience in low- and middle-income countries.

Desirable: Experience with WHO is an advantage.

 

Skills/Knowledge:

 

Advanced technical knowledge in public health, rehabilitation and assistive technology.

Knowledge of Rehabilitation 2030, Western Pacific Regional Framework for Rehabilitation; GATE-initiative; universal health coverage and related concepts; and knowledge of program management cycle including monitoring and evaluation.

Effective communication skills and cultural sensitivity.

Analytical and writing skills.

 

Language/s:

 

Expert knowledge of English.

 

Location 

 

Off site: Home-based

 

Travel

 

The consultant may be required to travel to the Regional office and/ or selected countries based on the deliverables.

 

Remuneration and budget:

 

Band level C – USD 10 000 – USD 11 249 per month.

 

Expected duration of the contract: 11 months with 60% FTE for WPRO and 40% FTE for WHO HQ

Additional Information:

 

• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
• A written test may be used as a form of screening.
• If your candidature is retained for interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
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