Purpose of the consultancy

The purpose of this STC is to assist the WHO Representative Office for Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Singapore (“WCO”) in adapting the global WHO mhGAP intervention guide in Malaysia.

Background

Recent findings from the Malaysian National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) have shown an increase in the prevalence of mental health conditions across all ages. The 2022 NHMS had reported a worrying trend of mental health issues experienced by children and adolescents, where across the last decade there has been a steady increase in the prevalence of depression, self-reported suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts.

Amongst the older populations, a similar trend is seen as reported in the 2023 NHMS, which showed that the prevalence of depression for people aged 16 and above has doubled over the past 5 years. The increasing prevalence of mental health conditions presents a worrisome situation for all Malaysians. The
existing National Strategic Plan for Mental Health 2020 – 2025 had set out important strategies and targets to improve the mental health of Malaysians. These include increasing service coverage for severe mental disorders, reducing the prevalence of depression among adolescents, and reducing the prevalence of mental health conditions across all ages. However, looking at the findings from both the 2022 and 2023 NHMS, provision of mental health support must be accelerated for those targets to be realised.

WCO together with the Ministry of Health (MOH) is planning to increase the national capacity to promote, protect and support mental health in the communities. This includes strengthening the community-based support and services for mental health, using the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) as a guide. The mhGAP Intervention Guide specifically aims to build the capacities of non-specialised healthcare workers to provide mental health care and support at the primary health care level.

A consultant is needed to support the process of mhGAP adaptation and implementation in Malaysia.

Deliverables

By working closely with the WCO and MOH, the consultant will be responsible for providing high quality technical support to achieve the following outputs:

Output 1: Conduct a situational analysis of the status of mental health services provision at primary health care level.
Deliverable 1.1 Adapt and validate the mhGAP situational analysis tool through consultations with WHO, local experts and other key stakeholders (5 days)
Deliverable 1.2 Collect information by conducting interviews and focus group discussions with relevant stakeholders, both online and in-person at the selected health care facilities (15 days)
Deliverable 1.3 Develop a situational analysis report (5 days)

Output 2:  Develop adapted WHO mhGAP intervention protocols.
Deliverable 2.1 Collect input for mhGAP module adaptation, including through stakeholder consultations, expert consultations, and workshop(s). (15 days)
Deliverable 2.2 Prepare the final technical report with the adapted mhGAP modules. (10 days)

The work will include engagements (i.e technical workshops, focus group discussions, interviews) with key stakeholders in Malaysia. The work will be conducted under the guidance of an mhGAP operations team consisting of representatives from WHO and MOH.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential: Individual with a university degree in medicine, nursing, psychiatry, psychology, social work, behavioural sciences or a related field from an institution or university recognized in the International Association of Universities’ Worldwide Database of Higher Education Institutions, Systems and Credentials (WHED).
Desirable: Individual with an advanced university degree in the related fields related to mental health or public health.

Experience

Essential: Minimum five years’ work and/or research experience in mental health or other public health programme planning, operations and implementation.
Desirable: Relevant experience working with the MOH Malaysia at national or state level on mental health programme(s); relevant work or research experience on mental health programme and/or development of mental health capacity building framework(s); relevant work or research experience at the primary health care level.

Skills/Knowledge:

• Knowledge within the area of public health, mental health, psychology, psychiatry, or family health.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize information and summarize it in a written format.
• Ability to convey complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Familiarity with the WHO mhGAP intervention guide is an advantage.

Languages and level required

Fluent in written and spoken English and/or Malay.

Location

Off site: Home-based

Travel

Consultant may be required to travel locally to meet with MOH and other stakeholders.

Remuneration and budget

Remuneration: TBD
Expected duration of contract: 5 months, February to June 2025

Additional Information

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Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements