Consultant: Eswatini National Essential Medicines and Standard Treatment Guidelines Review

Job Description

Description

The successful consultant is expected to lead the processes involved from the initiation to the completion of STG/EML-2012 use assessment to identification of revision. Final report writing and presentation of findings to key stakeholders will conclude this assignment. This activity will involve extensive and routine meetings and engagement of treatment facility based health care workers, key staffs of the directorates of primary health care services and pharmaceutical services and other relevant departments. Products of the assignment are required to be reviewed by MOH and expert reviewers that may be engaged through support from TSP/SC-PASS. The TSP/SC-PASS office will provide logistics support to the consultant throughout the duration of the assignment.

Qualifications/Requirements

• Advanced University Education in Pharmacy, Medicine or Public Health
• Minimum of 10+ years clinical and or pharmaceutical management experience
• African experience preferred
• Experience in designing and conducting treatment guideline use surveys and essential medicines lists or other data aggregation and analysis
• Leadership and consolidated supervision skills
• Soft skills and capabilities

Objectives

• To assess use of the Eswatini Standard Treatment Guideline and Essential Medicines List – 2012 by health workers and key stakeholders.
• To assess the extent to which the Eswatini STG/EML-2012 met health worker practice needs
• Identify revision needs to be incorporated into the next edition of the STG/EML from all relevant stakeholders.

Scope of Work

• Development of appropriate data collection tools based on WHO standards
• Develop detailed work plan including timelines and proposed meetings/workshop schedules, have the work plan reviewed by TSP/SC-PASS and approved by MOH.
• Obtain MOH commitment to ensure the availability of key staffs for this activity
• Conduct a comprehensive survey targeting at least 50 potential users of the STG/EML-2012 to obtain feedback on:
• The current status of prescribing behavior in big health facilities (hospitals and health Centers) in line with the STG/EML-2012.
• Desirable design, layout and the format of contents for the revised STG/EML-2012
• How to improve usage the STG/EML at health facilities
• Participate in the EML/STG TWG meetings to present findings and receive guidance and inputs.
• Submit first draft of the STG/EML-2012 use assessment report including details of; methodology and recommendations for development of the new edition to the MOH.
• Conduct in brief and debriefing sessions with MOH and TSP/SC-PASS
• Submit final draft report to TSP/SC-PASS

Expected Deliverables

• A draft inception report demonstrating the consultants understanding of the task, methodology and activity work plan (upon submission of proposal)
• A complete, accurate data and consistent data sets obtained from the assessment
• STG/EML-2012 use assessment report
• STG/EML use dissemination workshop attendance report

The final product of this consultancy, which is the dissemination of the STG/EML-2012 use assessment report and is expected to be held on or before March 5, 2019. Final Deliverable will be required by March 15, 2019.

Interested consultants should submit technical and financial proposals to undertake this activity before 17:00 pm SAST, 25^th January 2019 by email to the Program Manager:

Ms. Nathene Morley (nmorley@tingathe.org)

Late submissions will be rejected.

About the Organization

The Technical Support to PEPFAR Programs in the Southern Africa Region (TSP) project, signed in 2016 as a USAID cooperative agreement with Baylor-Malawi as the prime, implements the Swaziland Supply Chain and Pharmaceutical Assistance for Sustainable Systems (SC-PASS) project. TSP offers support to the ten countries of Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Kingdom of eSwatini, Zambia and Zimbabwe to reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS and assist in attaining the ambitious UNAIDS 95-95-95 goals, as well as build the capacity of country teams to eventually take full ownership of their programs. This assistance includes technical expertise, human resource capacity, physical infrastructure, program implementation experience, and regional coordination and communication with a special focus on women, children, and adolescents with HIV.

SC-PASS, which started on March 22, 2018, is continuing to build on the achievements of its predecessor, the USAID funded, Systems for improving access to Pharmaceuticals and services (SIAPS). SC-PASS also addresses new priorities and strategies as identified by the Ministry of Health (MOH). The overall goal of the SC-PASS project is: “To improve the delivery and consistent use of HIV, TB and other reproductive health commodities and essential pharmaceutical services to achieve desired HIV, TB and reproductive health outcomes.”

Currently, there is Standard Treatment Guideline and Essential Medicines List (STG/EML) available for use by health workers at public health care settings in Eswatini; which was published in 2012. Considering the numerous changes in policies, guidelines, and new scientific evidence that informs clinical practice, there is a compelling need to revise and update this guideline so that it remains relevant to the users. It’s widely believed that the current STG has not been used extensively due to a number of factors. TSP/SC-PASS has obtained approval from the Principal Secretary, MOH, Eswatini to support the review, update of the treatment guideline and hereby wishes to engage the services of competent consultant(s) to undertake some aspects of this project as specified.

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