REOI & TOR – PUBLIC HEALTH MANAGEMENT INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL CONSULTANT “TO CONDUCT A REVIEW ON “HEALTH GOVERNANCE AND COVID-19 RESPONSE” IN THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE’’

A key feature of the APRM is that it is home grown. This, as well as its voluntary nature, are important in buttressing and consolidating Africa’s ownership of its development agenda. As an assessment and monitoring tool, the APRM can also help to track progress towards meeting regional and international development aspirations and commitments including AU’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The African Union and the Heads of State and Government are cognizant of this and in January 2017 expanded the mandate of the Mechanism from the core reviews to a monitoring and evaluation role of the African Union Agenda 2063 and the SDGs. This is a reflection of the confidence reposed in the Mechanism and will contribute to the universalization of the APRM where all AU member-states will become members of the APRM.

2) DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

In December,2019, the Swedish International Development Agency approved the APRM-SIDA Project. The Project will help strengthen the APRM and contribute to the delivery of its mandate. It will support the implementation of the 2020-2023 Strategic Plan and reposition APRM as an instrument for monitoring AU Agenda 2063 and SDGs. Apart from addressing the immediate challenges faced by the Mechanism, the grant will help in the review and refinement of the APRM tools and processes , to ensure that the Mechanism remains relevant in a rapidly changing world and is also to take on board the expanded mandate and expectations of the member countries . In this regard, the project is expected to support the following key areas of the APRM (1)Deepening the APRM Review, (2)Strengthening Civil Society Participation (3)Strengthening Gender Participation (4)National Governance Reporting  (6)Development of the Au Guidance Notes for  State Owned Enterprise (SOEs) . These programmes are designed to shape the work of the Mechanism.

In the context of the implementation of the APRM-SIDA Project, the APRM intends to recruit one (1) experienced Public Health Management Individual National Consultant to undertake the assessment of Targeted Review on the theme: “Health Governance and Covid-19 Response in the Republic of Sierra Leone”  for the Mechanism, for which these terms of Reference (TORs) are prepared.

The Consultant shall follow and also be guided by the specific objectives contained within the Socioeconomic Development (SED), Economic Governance and Management (EGM), Corporate Governance (CG), and Democracy and Political Governance (DPG) below.

The specific objectives are as follows:

Socioeconomic Development (SED)

i)      Promote and accelerate broad based sustainable socio-economic development.

ii)    Encourage broad based participation in development.

iii)   Poverty, unemployment and inequality.

iv)   Progress towards gender equality, particularly equal access to education for girls at all levels.

Economic Governance and Management (EGM)

i)    Design and implement economic policies for sustainable development.

ii)  Encourage ownership and participation of key stakeholders in policy formulation and implementation.

iii)Promote sound public finance management.

iv) Fight corruption and money laundering.

v)  Accelerate and deepen regional integration in the monetary, trade and investment domain.

vi) Develop and implement trade and investment policies that promote economic growth.

Corporate Governance (CG)

i)                Promote an enabling environment and effective Regulatory Framework for business organizations and other entities.

ii)              Ensure effective leadership and accountability of Organizations.

iii)             Ensure ethical conduct with organizations.

iv)             Ensure that Organizations treat stakeholders fairly and equitably.

v)               Ensure that Organizations act as Good Corporate citizens.

D     Democracy and Political Governance (DPG)

i)                Constitutional Democracy and the Rule of Law.

ii)              The Separation of Powers.

iii)             Prevention and reduction of intra and inter-state conflicts.

iv)             Ensuring accountable, efficient and effective public service delivery at the national and decentralized levels.

v)               Promotion and protection of the rights of women.

vi)             Promotion and protection of the rights of children and young persons.

vii)           Promotion and protection of the rights of vulnerable groups.

Under the supervision of the Targeted Review Coordinator at the APRM Secretariat the Consultant shall:

3.1 Familiarize himself/herself with APRM documents and specific information developed for Sierra Leone.

i) The experts are expected to familiarize themselves with the Base Documents of the APRM and the APRM Questionnaire.

ii) The experts will also be provided with the existing documentation on and specific information developed for Sierra Leone.

3.2   Identification of Issues should be informed by the following:

After analyzing all the collected and compiled documents, the identification of the issues should be informed by the following:

i)     Issues related to the Codes, Law, Rules and Regulations on Public Health Management, Disaster Management, Statistical Analysis and the theme ““Health Governance and Covid-19 Response in the Republic of Sierra Leone”.

ii)        Issues that have been understated or inadequately addressed.

iii)      Issues that have been identified in the past but continue to have serious implementation problems.

iv)      Areas of discrepancy or divergence (from cross-checking with the Background paper).

v)       Ensure that the Targeted Review process takes into consideration the Local Content Policy of Sierra Leone in ensuring that the process is locally led and nationally owned with an effort to move beyond the output level.

3.3  The structure should follow the Objectives under each of the APRM thematic areas as outlined in the APRM Questionnaire. Cross-cutting or issues of an overarching nature have to be separately addressed. 

3.4  The Beneficiaries of the final Report are the following:

i)      The APRM Continental Secretariat;

ii)                  The APRM Panel; and

iii)         The Country undergoing the assessment.

3.5  Prioritization of Issues

Some efforts should be made to prioritize the issues.

3.6  Participation and Rapporteur

i)  The consultant will be expected to participate in the Targeted Review field mission and capture the unfolding issues of the visit, which will inform the final Targeted Review Report.

ii)  The consultant will be expected to capture and explore the specific issues that have been identified on the theme and to feed these into the final Targeted Review Report.

iii)        The consultant will be expected to participate in breakaway sessions or bilateral meetings focusing on the theme and to keep a record of these sessions. This may include meetings and workshops outside of the capital city.

iv)          The consultant may also be required to investigate further specific issues on the theme either before, during or after the visit.

v)           Further, the consultant is required to participate in every briefing session of the team relating to the review. A briefing session will be held at the end of each day during the field review mission.

3.7  Compile and collect the information necessary to develop the Background Paper for each of the four specific objectives.

i)                For each objective, all the data available and sources used must be specified to allow for an overall perspective and verification of information.

ii)              Data must have proper citations on the source of information and must be of quality, and relevant to the topic in discussion.

iii)              Questions that arise as a result of the research and require further exploration by members of the review team should be highlighted.

iv)             The paper should be analytical rather than descriptive.

v)               Tables can be used to highlight areas of good practice and gaps requiring more study by the review mission.

vi)             Tables and figures should be subtitled and sequentially numbered.

vii)           Use the foot of each page for citations and other supplementary information (author, title, date, page numbering) that is tangential to the topic under discussion on the main page.

viii)         Bibliography – provide a complete listing in the Harvard style.

3.8 Division of Labour

3.8.1 The National Consultant is principally expected to prepare a Background Paper of about 20 pages on Public Health Management, with reference to the theme “Health Governance and Covid-19 Response in the Republic of Sierra Leone”,  a Key Issues Paper, and the Questionnaires.

In this respect, the Individual National Consultant is expected to:

i) Review all the documentation on Public Health Management and Disaster Management in Sierra Leone.

ii) Collect all the relevant information from the Public Sector, Private Sector, Civil Societies, NGOs, Rural Communities and all Stakeholders.

iii) Contribute towards the drafting of the Targeted Review Report.

3.8.2   The National Consultant is a member of the Review team and will work in collaboration with the International Consultant, the Targeted Review team and all the stakeholders.

4.0    DELIVERABLES

4.1   Prepare a Background Paper of about 20 pages on Public Health Management with reference to the theme “Health Governance and Covid-19 Response in the Republic of Sierra Leone”. The Background Paper shall be submitted on the 14^th day from the date of contract. The report shall include the following:

i)      An Executive Summary of 5 pages with conclusions on the nature of issues discovered and the status of the theme under investigation. The Executive Summary should conclude with a bullet point and summary of the main strengths and challenges Sierra Leone faces in this area; and

ii)    A full disclosure of sources and citations and a full bibliography as mentioned under the scope of work.

4.2  Prepare a Key Issues Paper on the same theme and submit on the 14^th day from the date of the Contract.

4.3   Prepare the Questionnaires on the same theme and submit on the 14^th day from the date of Contract.

5.0   TIME FRAME

The consultancy will be conducted in thirty (30) days, including field mission.

The Consultant should have one of the following education profiles:

• A PhD in Public Health Management, Health Sciences, Public Health Policy or related fields with a minimum of five (5) years public health experience in developing, implementing and evaluating public health programs or other relevant public health programs that involve coordination with  National agencies or implementing partners; or
• A Masters’ degree in Public Health Management, Health Sciences, Public Health Policy or related fields with a minimum of seven (7) years public health experience in developing, implementing and evaluating public health programs or other relevant public health programs that involve coordination with National agencies or implementing partners.

6.2  Experience, Skills and Competencies

i)                Have at least five (5) years with a PhD or seven (7) years’ experience with Master’s in public health experience in developing, implementing and evaluating public health programs or other relevant public health programs that involve coordination with National agencies or implementing partners.

ii)              Have in-depth knowledge of Public Health Management to be able to assess public health policy’s impact on economic and social development; with particular emphasis on broad based access to quality health care.

iii)             Have in-depth knowledge of Sierra Leone.

iv)             Have produced research relevant to Public Health Management in Sierra Leone pertinent to Socio-Economic Development (SED), Economic Governance and Management (EGM); and/or Corporate Governance (CG), and/or Democracy and Political Governance (DPG).

v)               Have in-depth knowledge of (a) programs designed to bring out health challenges in Sierra Leone and (b) plans to manage these challenges in the country.

vi)             Have broad knowledge of International Relations, or Development issues in Public Health Management in Africa and Globally.

vii)           Have broad knowledge of Disaster Management, Econometrics/Statistics in Sierra Leone, Africa and Globally.

viii)         Have knowledge of the African Union and the APRM.

ix)             Demonstrate ability for teamwork, as well as the ability to work independently.

x)               Have project management experience and able to respect deadlines.

xi)             Fluency in spoken English and ability to write lucid reports and documents in English is required; knowledge of the other language will be an added advantage.