Management Sciences for Health:

Management Sciences for Health (MSH), a global health nonprofit organization, uses proven approaches developed over 40 years to help leaders, health managers, and communities in developing nations build stronger health systems for greater health impact. We work to save lives by closing the gap between knowledge and action in public health. Since its founding in 1971, MSH has worked in over 150 countries with policy makers, health professionals, and health care consumers to improve the quality, availability and affordability of health services.

Project Description:

Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and led by MSH, the goal of the five-year USAID Medicines, Technologies and Pharmaceutical Services (MTaPS) program is to help low- and middle-income countries strengthen their pharmaceutical systems to ensure sustainable universal access to best treatments and pharmaceutical services.

In Ethiopia, MTaPS work focuses on the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) to support containment and prevention of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in the country, which will be accomplished by helping to build capacity of in-country stakeholders to implement the National Action Plan on AMR (NAP). MTaPS collaborates with the Ministry of Health to support implementation of strategic objective (SO.4), “Optimize the use of antimicrobials in human and animal health through effective stewardship practices” of the NAP. Ensuring the availability and monitoring the use of and adherence to evidence-based standard treatment guidelines will promote optimal prescribing and hence minimize the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.

Assignment:

USAID MTaPS, in collaboration with MoH, seeks to engage well qualified - consultants to revise the existing Standard Treatment Guidelines for Ethiopia.  The Consultants will be hired by USAID MTaPS, but will closely wok with the Pharmaceutical and Medical Equipment Directorate (PMED) of MoH and the Technical Working Group established for STG revision. The USAID MTaPS program director or his designee will provide close support to this assignment.

The revision process should address common health problems in Ethiopia and needs to be aligned with treatment recommendations of specific diseases of public health importance, such as HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria, syndromic management of STIs, etc. A particular focus should be given to the incorporation of Access, Watch and Reserve (AWaRe) classification of antibiotics when recommending first and second line treatment options for bacterial infections.

Number of consultants required: Two physicians and one clinical pharmacist should form the core group of consultants, but different specialists need to be recruited to address specific areas

The scope of the consultancy is as follows: 

• Identify and use relevant references necessary for the revision of standard treatment guidelines including national treatment guidelines for different diseases
• Gather evidence about local epidemiology of infectious diseases and establish the antibiotic resistance profile of the causal microorganisms of prevalent local syndromes
• Prepare and frame the outline of the Standard Treatment Guidelines
• Include the dates of publication/revision of previous editions of the National STGs, with the names of consultants and experts involved in their development
• Participate and lead in organizing different consultative and validation workshops
• Utilize latest evidence-based knowledge on the subject matter
• Participate in the national technical working group meetings when required

Deliverables:

• Contents of STGs for health center, primary hospitals and general hospitals for approval
• Draft STGs for health center, primary hospitals and general hospitals for review
• Compiled reports/proceedings on the revision processes and workshops
• Final, edited and print-ready version of STGs for health center, primary hospitals and general hospitals after final review and approval

Duration of Assignment:

The consultants shall submit the final STGs for health center, primary hospitals and general hospitals within 5 months from the signing of the agreement

Procedure

Potential applicants make a quotation based on the administrative criteria and core competencies criteria mentioned below. These quotations are assessed using compliance, technical expertise, time of delivery and price as criteria. MTaPS withholds the right to conduct interviews with one or more potential applicants before an award decision is made. The purpose of the interview is to seek further clarification on submitted quotations and learn more about the background and previous experiences of the potential applicants.

Administrative criteria

Contents of quotation

The following should be included in the application:

• Technical and financial proposal submitted separately
  • Background and relevance of past experience in relation to the current  consultancy task
  • Brief synopsis  on the subject of consultancy: It should reflect how the consultant has conceptualized and understood the task
  • Methodology
  • Detailed work plan with timelines
  • Budget (with breakdown)
  • References of previous work

Core Competencies & Qualifications:

• MD+ Internal medicine specialization with 5 years’ of clinical work experience. Additional training in infectious diseases is a plus
• Master’s or above in Clinical pharmacy or pharmacology with 5 years’ of clinical or teaching experience.
• Individuals with proven previous experience in developing or revising standard treatment guidelines, standard operating procedures or drug use policies
• Sound knowledge and experience on the country’s health system and pharmaceutical service delivery
• Demonstrated experience in antimicrobial stewardship programs or clinical audit activities