LHSS Namibia Resource Tracking Consultant

Description

• Overview of LHSS:
• The Local Health Systems Sustainability (LHSS) project is USAID's flagship initiative in strengthening integrated health systems, with the goal of helping low- and middle-income countries move to sustainable, self-funded health systems to support universal health coverage
• Led by Abt Associates, this five-year, $209 million project works with partner countries and local stakeholders to reduce financial barriers to care and treatment, ensure equitable access to essential health services for all, and improve the quality of health services
• Background:
• The Local Health System Sustainability (LHSS) Namibia Activity will support the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) and other Government of the Republic of Namibia (GRN) stakeholders as well as non-governmental entities in advancing long-term sustainability planning for health
• LHSS will focus its efforts on the journey towards universal health coverage (UHC), improved health financing, and strengthened private-sector engagement (PSE)
• Specifically, LHSS Namibia will:
• Support the MoHSS’ efforts towards UHC and sustainable health financing:
• LHSS will support the continued engagement of UHC governance structures for strengthened stakeholder coordination and participatory decision-making, strengthening the MoHSS’s capacity to strategically engage with multisectoral stakeholders and facilitate health financing reforms, and support the Ministry’s sustainability planning efforts for more equitable and adequate resource mobilization and allocation
• Improve the efficient use of resources through evidence-based decision-making and improved accountability:
• LHSS will work with the MoHSS to strengthen their capacity for effective, efficient, and equitable resource allocation and management through improved budgeting and contract management practices
• Further, LHSS will strengthen the resource tracking capacity of the MoHSS in facilitating the routine generation and use of critical data for health financing and programmatic decision-making
• Objectives:
• As the GRN undertakes necessary health sector reforms to progress towards UHC, it is essential to ensure that these reforms and policy decisions are informed by relevant, reliable and recent data
• Resource tracking data provides detailed information on the magnitude and flow of resources used for health, and as such, is critical for health financing as well as programmatic decision-making
• LHSS will support the MoHSS in conducting a resource tracking exercise using the combined System of Health Accounts (SHA) 2011 and National AIDS spending Assessment (NASA) methodology, which the MoHSS developed and implemented during it’s last resource tracking exercise
• The resource tracking exercise aims to generate recent estimates of spending on health and HIV for the years 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 to allow program managers and policy makers to make informed decisions about program design, resource allocation, and policy reforms
• The objectives of the resource tracking exercise are to:
• Estimate total health expenditures in Namibia
• Estimate distribution of the spending across priority areas, especially HIV/AIDS and COVID-19
• Monitor use of program funds
• Identify potential areas for resource mobilization
• Evaluate expenditure against priorities of the health sector in Namibia
• Strengthen in-country capacity in resource tracking
• Through these objectives the resource tracking exercise will address the following key policy questions:
• How sustainable are the resources flowing to the health sector?
• Is health spending aligned to the national priorities and the burden of diseases such as HIV, TB, Malaria, NCDs, and Maternal and Child Health?
• What is the relative share of out of pocket spending out of the overall spending on health?
• What is the role of the private sector in provision of health?
• What impact did COVID-19 have on spending in other areas of health?
• LHSS is seeking a consultant with expertise in conducting NASA and SHA 2011 exercises to support the training of the resource tracking technical working group and national consultants assisting with the data collection to develop their technical capacity to conduct resource tracking exercises
• Furthermore, the consultant will be required to support the implementation of the exercise, including the cleaning, consolidation, mapping and analysis of data collected, and to draft the results report
• Finally, the consultant will also contribute to efforts of identifying measures and implementing approaches that would simplify and facilitate the regular production of resource tracking estimates and to institutionalize processes

Duties

• The consultant will have the following duties and responsibilities in relation to the Namibian resource tracking exercise:
• Co-facilitate a training workshop on the objectives of resource tracking, specifically focusing on the detailed NASA methodology, data requirements and the various data collection tools for the different respondent types
• Co-facilitate the resource tracking launch event during which the resource tracking team will guide the respondents through the data collection questionnaires in detail, explaining each question and data requirement to the relevant respondent groups
• Oversee the data collection efforts of the MoHSS and the local consultants to ensure accuracy, completeness and validity of data collected
• Review returned questionnaires to ensure accuracy, completeness and validity of data provided, and provide guidance to the local consultants to fill in any data gaps identified and address any inaccuracies or inconsistencies identified during the review of the questionnaires
• Support the collection of secondary data in line with data needs defined by the resource tracking technical working group
• Support the consolidation, mapping and analysis of data collected with a specific focus on the HIV expenditures
• Prepare the required NASA statistical tables detailing the HIV expenditures for the 3 years under review, in line with UNAIDS reporting requirements
• Contribute to the drafting of the resource tracking report, specifically the sections analyzing the HIV spending results
• Support the review of the current resource tracking processes to identify approaches and measures to simplify and facilitate the regular production of resource tracking estimates and to institutionalize processes
• Provide continuous mentoring to MoHSS counterparts in the Policy and Planning Directorate and the Directorate of Finance and Logistics
• Facilitate effective coordination and communication with other key PFM stakeholders, such as USAID, ensuring alignment on key issues relating to sustainability planning
• Period of Performance, expected Level of Effort (LOE), reporting, and travel
• Assumptions: This contract is dependent on the ability of government and development partner stakeholders to engage with the Activity, given any COVID-19-related restrictions and the ability of USAID to obtain concurrence from the MoHSS to work with the Activity
• Reporting: The consultant will report to Claire Jones, Chief of Party for LHSS Namibia, and is expected to lead this work described above and be responsible for final deliverables
• Location: Travel within Namibia for parts of the consultancy may be required
• Period of Performance: The consultant’s period of performance begins on November 1, 2023, and ends on June 30, 2024, for a total LOE up to 30 days

Requisites

• The consultant is expected to have the following qualifications and experience:
• Master's Degree (minimum) in Finance, Business Administration, Economics, Public Financial Management or other relevant field
• At least 8 years of relevant professional experience in managing progressively complex public financial management programs, preferably in the health sector
• Experience in working with USAID programs is preferred (but not required)
• Recognized expertise and practical experience in conducting National AIDS Spending Assessment exercises, including data collection, mapping and analysis of results
• Experience conducting System of Health Accounts 2011 exercises a plus
• Proven track record of working effectively with government counterparts at various levels, ideally in Southern Africa. Experience in Namibia is preferred
• Demonstrated leadership and management skills and ability to lead and motivate multidisciplinary, multicultural teams
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with USAID, Global Fund, ministry officials, and other development partners and a proven track record of interacting with other projects, high-level host country governments and international agencies

Notes

• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted