Terms of Reference for the CHEWS Strategy Revision 2024-2029
Background/Context
Earlier this year, Living Goods through Africa Frontline First (AFF) received funding from the Global Fund (GF) to support the Ministry of Health (MoH) to address key gaps and bottlenecks, lay strong foundations, and build the readiness of community health systems towards scale, institutionalization, and sustainability through Project BIRCH (Building Integrated Readiness for Community Health). The proposed technical assistance (TA) approach is designed to provide comprehensive support tailored to meet the specific needs and objectives of the project, including the MoH priority needs to be addressed. Through a collaborative partnership with the Department of Health promotion and various key stakeholders (including donors and implementing partners), Overall, LG will employ a multi-faceted methodology aimed at enhancing capacity, fostering innovation, and facilitating sustainable solutions.
These will involve: thorough assessments to identify gaps, challenges, and opportunities within the project scope; wide key stakeholder engagement at all levels to ensure alignment of objectives, promote ownership, and foster collaboration; capacity building; provide dedicated technical support through ongoing guidance to address challenges and facilitate effective implementation; enhance capacity at MoH to provide dedicated leadership of the project and timely, effective coordination with other MoH departments and strengthening the skills and competencies of these personnel; establish robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and ensure accountability; documentation and facilitate knowledge sharing sessions and workshops to promote learning, exchange best practices, and foster innovation; assist in the development of sustainability plans to ensure project outcomes are maintained beyond the TA period and employ adaptive management strategies to respond to emerging challenges and adapt interventions as needed.
After BIRCH support, the goal is for Uganda to have achieved strong policies, strategies, and operational plans to advance the community health agenda within wider primary health care, human resources for health, health sector and the country; monitoring and regular assessments of systems that support community health to identify areas of improvement; functional coordination platforms to turn data into evidence-based decisions and performance; increased resource mobilization for community health; integrated financial planning with broader HRH and efficient resource allocation in community health; and long term financing and sustainability plans to ensure lasting impact.
Purpose of the consultancy
The consultant will lead the process of revising the outdated CHEW strategy. The goal of this consultancy is to update the strategy and involve key stakeholders and the Ministry of Health in a collaborative process to ensure their ownership of the plan. The substantive outcome is a costed five-year CHEW strategy for the period 2024–2029.
Scope of Work
The strategy must encompass a range of issues, including the roles and responsibilities of CHEWs and other stakeholders, selection criteria such as education levels, compensation and remuneration, tooling and training, implementation arrangements, monitoring and evaluation, a detailed cost strategy for CHEWs, and an implementation framework, among others. The consultant can draw from any best practices within similar strategies for other non-governmental organizations and stakeholders with similar modus operandi.
Specific Tasks
The Consultant will:
- Carry out a desk review of documents relevant to an understanding of the mandate.
- Review existing national strategies, laws and policies on the community health workers sector and include these when developing the CHEWS strategy plans.
- Develop a sound methodology and tool that will ground the CHEW strategy revision
- Conduct a comprehensive needs assessment for the strategy revision including desk reviews, stakeholder consultations and benchmarking exercises.
- Guide stake holder mapping and consultations and understand, obtain, and analyze qualitative and quantitative data relevant to stakeholders and partners.
- Develop plans and strategies with clear deliverables and tools that address the constraints and create the needed updates
- Together, with the advisory committee, lead a program of wider consultations to receive feedback on the draft strategy.
- Development, validation, finalization, and costing of the revised strategy 2024-2029. This will include aligning the financial resource allocation with the priorities outlined in the strategy and ensuring sufficient budgetary allocations to support its critical components, thereby enhancing its overall impact.
- Provide recommendations for ensuring the financial sustainability of the revised CHEW strategy by exploring potential funding sources, cost-saving measures, and innovative financing mechanisms to support the ongoing implementation of the strategy.
Deliverable Outputs
Based on the above, Consultant shall prepare and complete the five-year revised costed CHEW strategy. This shall entail, among other things the following:
- A detailed five-year CHEW costed strategy with clear and direct guidance on implementation and how to strengthen CHEWS implementation in Uganda.
- PPT of the strategy.
- Present the draft strategic plan to stakeholders to validate.
Commitment to Quality Work
At every stage of the assignment, the consultant shall use an evidence-based approach to ensure the highest standards of work and timely deliverables. The consultant shall ensure clarity of objectives and process during the consultations, countercheck all facts and figures cited, ensure that the content and format of the draft CHEW strategy meets the high standard for such documents, and ensure proper editing and clarity.
The consultant shall, at the onset of the planning process, identify all stakeholders having a direct and indirect interest in the CHEW strategy. Listing people, groups, and institutions that influence MoH’s work on community health. All stakeholders must be able to contribute to the CHEWS strategy to promote ownership.
Methods
The consultant shall obtain disaggregated data, review relevant literature, conduct interviews, conduct workshops, and undertake field visits if necessary. The consultant may establish a team to accomplish the consultancy’s objectives.
Qualifications/Competencies/ Experience
Living Goods is seeking for the services of a professional to develop revised a five-year costed CHEW Strategy. The individual must possess the following.
- Relevant work experience in strategic planning and development
- Excellent and proven analytical skills
- Possess knowledge of Uganda’s health system and experience in community health landscape.
- Understanding of participatory approaches to management and operations
- Excellent organizational and communication skills ability to prioritize and work with minimum supervision
Duration
The consultancy shall be for a period no longer than three (3) months, beginning on August 12th, 2024.
Application materials:
- Interested parties should submit a concise proposal for how the work will be carried out.
- Interested applicants are encouraged to submit their bids alongside detailed proposals, indicating their work schedule from the commencement to the end of the consultancy. Included should be:
- Technical approach and suggested timeline (maximum 5 pages)
- Case studies of previous experience of strategic development planning or similar assignments (maximum 2 pages)
- Budget for work to be undertaken (submitted in a single Excel work sheet and broken down into Consultancy fees, travel related costs including workshops and other)
- Any restrictions on consultant availability to begin work on August 12th, 2024.
Application timeline
Proposals should be submitted to: rmuhumuza@livinggoods.org with the subject line ‘MOH-LG CHEW Strategy Consultancy’
Application deadline: Monday, July 24th, 2024
- Short-listed applicants may be invited to attend an in-person or remote interview the between 31st July and 5th August at Living Goods offices. Candidates should endeavour to be available on these dates.
- Any questions should be sent to the email address above before 24th July 2024, with “MOH-LG CHEW Strategy Consultancy” in the subject line.
Avoidance of Conflict of Interest
The CHEW strategy writer must be able to provide objective, unbiased support. Therefore, each applicant must fully divulge any activities or connections that might lead to potential or perceived conflicts of interest, a self-assessment of whether such conflicts exist, and if so, how the consulting firm proposes to manage these. This applies at both the corporate and individual levels. Failure to disclose such conflicts would constitute grounds for disqualification.
