Purpose of the Consultancy

The consultant, as part of the Health Systems Development team at the WHO Country Office in Lao PDR will provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Health (MO, Lao PDR in strengthening and harmonizing the national Health Management Information System (HMIand other health information systems. Moreover, the consultant will contribute to the implementation of Lao PDR Digital Health Strategy 20232027 and strengthening digital transformation that can accelerate scaling up of sustainable digital health technologies and solutions. Additionally, the consultant will provide technical support in various areas of health information systems strengthening such as tracking national and international health indicators, improving data quality, data use, and strengthening capacity of MOH staff in the production of routine information products.

Background

Health information systems (HIplay a crucial role in generating evidence for decisionmaking and actions across all levels of the healthcare system. The Lao PDR’s Health Management Information System (HMIis a vital component of the national health system, providing evidence for policy decisions. In 2013, the Ministry of Health (MOintroduced District Health Information Software version 2 (DHIS2) as the integrated platform for the national HMIS. The main role of the consultant will be to provide technical assistance to MOH to strengthen and harmonize the HMIS and other HIS.

In the current global landscape, there is a trend towards investing in the digitalization of healthcare. Aligning with this, Lao PDR launched its first Digital Health Strategy (DHin January 2023, marking a significant step towards leveraging digital technologies for the enhancement of healthcare delivery. WHO Country Office in Lao PDR is assisting the MOH in implementing the DHS. In the DHS, five strategic priorities have been identified: governance, workforce, infrastructure, standards, and applications. These priorities are expected to create a foundation for streamlined health services and datadriven decisionmaking. One of the main roles of the consultant will be to provide technical assistance to MoH to implement the DHS 2023

Additionally, the MOH is tasked with producing and disseminating routine and ad hoc information products/reports, such as the annual national health statistics report. These reports are generated using data from the HMIS and other HISs. The consultant will facilitate the timely production and dissemination of these reports, ensuring they reach relevant stakeholders and contribute to evidencebased decisionmaking processes.

Furthermore, a significant MOH project involves integrating climate data into the national health management information system to monitor, prepare for, and mitigate climaterelated health risks. The consultant will provide technical support in integrating climate data into national health surveillance systems.

Deliverables

Under the direct guidance of Coordinator, Health Systems Development and Social Determinants at the WHO Country Office in Lao PDR, the consultant will provide incountry technical support in following areas:

1. Strengthening routine health information systems and advancing the digital transformation of healthcare
2. Preparing and disseminating information on health sector development and health system performance
3. Strengthening Civil Registration and Vital Statistics systems of Lao PDR

The consultant will be expected to contribute to the achievement of the following outputs:

Output 1: Support for strengthening routine health information systems and advancing the digital transformation of healthcare
Deliverable 1: Develop a policy brief including a set of recommendations to improve the DHIS2 based on the results of the maturity assessment of DHIS 2
Deliverable 2: Roll out the Child Health Development Record (aka under 5 children tracker programmon HMIS in selected provinces
Deliverable 3: Roll out the Action Plan App in selected provinces
Deliverable 4: Roll out the ICT infrastructure and WASH facilities mapping tool on HMIS
Deliverable 5: Design and develop a Human Resource for Health (HRinformation system for Lao PDR
Deliverable 6: Support to automate data exchange between Early Warning and Response System (EWARand HMIS predict climate sensitive diseases

Output 2: Support for strengthening the death notification system including the nationwide roll out of the ICD10 to improve Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Lao PDR
Deliverable 1: Roll out the IPD tracker and the cause of death reporting app in HMIS
Deliverable 2: Facilitate ICD10 morbidity and mortality coding training at subnational level
Deliverable 3: Facilitate medical certification of cause of death (MCCOtraining at subnational level
Deliverables 4: Support the development of study design for mortality surveillance case study of Lao PDR

Output 3: Support strengthening health research capacity in Lao PDR
Deliverable 1: Design and develop a digital system to automate ethical review process of Lao PDR
Deliverable 2: Support a situation analysis and capacity building of clinical trials in Lao PDR

The consultant is expected to submit a monthly report including deliverables with agreed timeline

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Education qualifications:

Essential: Advanced university degree in public health, health sciences or medical degree from a recognized university.
Desirable: Postgraduate degree in public health, health informatics management or related field from a recognized tertiary institution.

Experience:

Essential: Minimum seven years’ work experience in the areas of digital health and health information systems strengthening, including HIS assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Desirable: Experience in supporting ministries of health in strengthening CRVS systems. Work experience in Lao PDR and/or other developing countries in the AsiaPacific Region. Experience in working with WHO/UN agencies.

Skills/Knowledge:

Essential: Experience in managing and coordinating HIS and digital health projects within a public health context, knowledge and experience in DHIS2 implementation, data analysis, and report writing.
Desirable: Familiarity of DHIS2 interoperability integration concepts. Familiarity with ICD10/11, International form on medical certificate of cause of death, and indicators of SDG 3 and healthrelated SDG and UHC. Familiarity of DHIS2 interoperability integration concepts.

Language and level required:

Expert knowledge of spoken and written English is essential.

Location

The consultant will be based in Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR with potentially having to undertake duty travel to provinces.

Travel

The consultant is expected to travel to Lao PDR and provide onsite support and due to the nature of support, teleworking will not be possible. Local travel within the country, where needed, will be arranged by WCO

Remuneration and budget

Remuneration: Payband level B – USD 8,0009,980 (monthl
Duration: 3 months, November 2024 to February 2025

Additional Information:

•    This vacancy notice may be used to identify candidates for other similar consultancies at the same level.
•    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(/diploma(/certificate(required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHE, a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IA/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESC. 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.
•    For information on WHO’s operations please visit: http://www.who.int.
•    The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits workforce regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.
The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its workforce. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversityequityandinclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply for WHO jobs.
Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to reasonableaccommodation@who.int
•    An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter (https://www.who.int/about/whoweare/ourvalues) into practice.
•    WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SE, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassmen. All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of shortlisted candidates.
•    WHO has a smokefree environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
•    Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority.
•    WHO shall have no responsibility for any taxes, duties, social security contributions or other contributions payable by the Consultant. The Consultant shall be solely responsible for withholding and paying any taxes, duties, social security contributions and any other contributions which are applicable to the Consultant in each location/jurisdiction in which the work hereunder is performed, and the Consultant shall not be entitled to any reimbursement thereof by WHO.
•    Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SH. The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Countryspecific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccinationrelated queries please directly contact SHW directly at shws@who.int.
•    In case the recruitment website does not display properly, please retry by: (checking that you have the latest version of the browser installed (Chrome, Edge or Firefo; (iclearing your browser history and opening the site in a new browser (not a new tab within the same browse; or (iiretry accessing the website using Mozilla Firefox browser or using another device. Click the link for detailed guidance on completing job applications: Instructions for candidates.

..