UNICEF Global

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Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

Develop and implement the paediatric component of the PEN-Plus strategy in Mozambique. PEN-Plus is an integrated care delivery strategy focused on alleviating the noncommunicable disease (NCD) burden among the poorest children and young adults by increasing the accessibility and quality of chronic care services for severe NCDs – such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatic heart disease, and sickle cell disease – in the rural areas by integrating NCD services at PHC level

Scope of Work:

While many NCDs have their origins in childhood, some NCDs occur even during childhood and adolescent period, such as asthma, diabetes, and heart disease. NCDs undermine children’s and adolescents’ right to health, nutrition, education, and play. This suggests that there is an urgent need to alleviate the present and future burden of NCDs, through the appropriate prevention and timely management of NCDs, including detection, screening, treatment, and palliative care for those in need.

A key recent focus in UNICEF worldwide is the neglected non-Communicable diseases (NCD). UNICEF Mozambique joined the NCDI Poverty Network to support the Mozambique efforts towards increasing NCDs awareness, supporting addition of the pediatric component in NCDs national strategies, increasing diagnostic and management capacities, improving consumables availability, and improving indicators and data collection.

The PEN-Plus Partnership consists of members of the NCDI Poverty Network who wish to engage in developing and promoting PEN-Plus strategies for integrated delivery of services at district hospitals for chronic care of severe NCDs that disproportionately children and young adults living in extreme poverty. These participants include representatives of: Ministries of Health; non-governmental organizations; academic institutions; disease-specific technical, policy, and advocacy institutions; philanthropic foundations; United Nations agencies and other multilateral and bilateral institutions; and organizations of people living with severe NCDs.

In Mozambique, the adapted WHO package of essential non-communicable diseases (PEN) is being used. The WHO PEN plus covers detection, diagnosis, treatment and care of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases, as well as the early diagnosis of cancer but has the limitation of being mostly adult oriented. UNICEF agreed with the Government and PEN plus partners to implement the PEN-Plus program by developing the childhood and adolescent NCDs component, which need different modalities of prevention and management approaches. The PEN-Plus focuses on alleviating the burden of NCDs among the poorest population, including children and adolescents by improving the accessibility and the quality of chronic care services for severe NCDs, such as type 1 diabetes (T1D), rheumatic heart disease (RHD), asthma and sickle cell disease, among many others.

One of the objectives of PEN-Plus program is to strengthen primary health care and referral system for prevention and management NCDs among children and adolescents.

The Mozambique PEN-Plus National Consultant for Pediatrics will be responsible for:

I. Supporting all the activities related to the pediatric NCD PEN-Plus component.

II. Contributing to national strategic plans and policies – as well as to operational planning – for children’s NCDs that are evidence-based and equity-enhancing, leaving no child behind.

III. Participating in all PEN-Plus working group meetings

IV. Ensuring that work is done in coordination with all local partners (INS, WHO, UNICEF, MoH, CUAMM)

V. Advocating for pediatric NCDs awareness

VI. Improving the quality of health care, strengthening the health workforce to deliver on NCDs and including pediatric NCDs in annual plans at PHC level.

VII. Development/Updating pediatric NCD management guidelines, referrals, training and mentorship systems, consumables and equipment management, information systems, assessments, and evaluations

VIII. Ensuring services are well managed, sustainable, promoting innovation and leaving no child behind

IX. Piloting of PEN plus in 1 district at PHC level

X. Improving the collection, analysis, use and quality of data, building on existent national information systems, new technologies, digitalization and capacity building on monitoring and evaluation

XI. Supporting mobilization of the private sector in the provision of health services for NCDs.

XII. Documenting PEN plus in Mozambique

Under the general supervision of the Chief of Health & Nutrition section as well as the PEN Plus co-chair and direct supervision of the Health Specialist, the consultant will provide strategic guidance and oversight related to pediatric NCDs in the PEN Plus context in Mozambique.

The NCD consultant will work full-time within UNICEF as well as with the PEN Plus team at the NCDI Poverty Network Co-Secretariat in Mozambique (Dra. Ana Olga team) to better integrate and support the advancement of the NCD agenda, while working with other partners as the MoH NCDs group, WHO and CUAMM. Further, the consultant will bridge the communication with health partners.

Payments and deliverables

Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant

Payment will be agreed as lumpsum paid upon completion of deliverables

Deliverables:

Work Assignments Overview: UNICEF PEN plus plan revised and finalized with timelines (Plan to be implemented for 2 years-Deliverables and timeline to be detailed for the first year).

Deliverables/Outputs: Inception report with a workplan developed for the whole consultancy period to finalize methodology, activities, timeline, and deliverables

Timeline/deadline: April 2023