Call for Expressions of Interest and Proposal

VN059: A Short-term Consultant to provide the General Department of Preventive Medicine (GDPM) of the Viet Nam Ministry of Health (MOH) with expertise support pertaining to non-communicable diseases (NCD) in the development of the proposal dossier for the development of the new Law on Disease Prevention.

1. Background

The Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (ID Law) was approved by the National Assembly on November 21st, 2007 and came into effect on July 1st, 2008. The ID Law focuses on prevention and control of communicable diseases, including communication and education, hygiene, surveillance, biosafety in laboratory testing, use of vaccine and biomedicals, infection prevention and control (IPC) in hospitals, border health quarantine, outbreak control measures, and other relevant regulations.

During the period 2016-2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office in Viet Nam supported GDPM in the development of the proposal dossier for the development of the revised ID Law, which was appraised by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and submitted to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for consideration in 2018. However, the revised ID Law Project was not included in the 14th National Assembly agenda because priority was given to the revised Medical Examination and Treatment Law Project. This delay, though seemed unfortunate at the time, has presented us with a better opportunity to strengthen the legal framework for prevention and control of communicable diseases, taking into account the lessons identified from the COVID-19 pandemic response during which many shortcomings of the ID Law were revealed in the application of preventive and control measures. The Government and MOH have now given this task a high priority, with the approval of Decision No. 2215/QD-BYT dated 17/5/2023 of the Minister of Health promulgating the Plan for formulation of application for the Law on Disease Prevention Project (the Law Project), which sets the target for the Law Project to be included in the 15th National Assembly law development agenda for 2025.

The objective of this short-term consultant position is to provide expertise inputs in the areas of non- communicable diseases to support GDPM in the development of the proposal dossier for the development of the new Law on Disease Prevention as described below.

2. Planned timelines (subject to confirmation): 45 working days, intermittent until 31 Dec 2023.

3. Work to be performed.

Under the overall supervision of the Health Emergency Team Coordinator of the WHO Viet Nam Country Office (WCO), in coordination with the Division of Public Health and Nutrition as the assigned focal point at GDPM, related government units and other key partners, the consultant is expected to undertake the tasks as described below.

• Provide strategic advice and support to GDPM in compiling the proposal dossier for the development of the Law on Disease Prevention.
• Take the lead in supporting GDPM in the process of review and revision of the proposal dossier based on the comments received from relevant stakeholders, particularly for the provisions of non-communicable disease prevention and control.
• Participate, as a key facilitator, in seminars, workshops, technical consultation meetings, etc. in the law development process and provide high-level expertise inputs pertaining to none-communicable disease prevention and control
• Perform any other related duties, as required by the respective responsible officer and manager.

Method(s) to carry out the activity.

The consultant shall collaborate with other experts and professional staff at GDPM in carrying out major steps in the law development process (See Annex) which covers steps I.1-3. These include the development of the proposal dossier, provide justification or revision to the proposal dossier pursuant to comments from Ministries, sectors, stakeholders, and Ministry of Justice’s appraisal report pertaining to non-communicable disease prevention and control. If all these steps can be completed before the end of the consultancy contract, the consultant will continue to support step I.4 until the end of the contract.

Output 1: A draft proposal dossier for the development of the Law on Disease Prevention (Expected date of delivery: 15 Nov 2023)

• Delivery 1.1: Review and update the Report on the implementation of legal regulations on non-communicable disease prevention and control.
• Deliverable 1.2 Review and update contents related to non-communicable disease prevention and control in other documents in the proposal dossier including the Report to the Government, impact assessment report and draft outline of the new Law on Disease Prevention.

Output 2: A revision of the proposal dossier for the development of the Law on Disease Prevention, ready to be submitted to the Government (Expected date of delivery: 15 Dec 2023)

• Deliverable 2.1: Provide explanation and justification pursuant to the comments from Ministries, sectors, stakeholders, and Ministry of Justice’s appraisal report pertaining to non-communicable disease prevention and control.
• Deliverable 2.2: Provide feedback, justification pursuant to the comments from theGovernment (if still within contract duration) pertaining to non-communicable disease prevention and control.

Output 3: Expertise inputs into all technical consultations in the process of the Law development pertaining but not limited to non-communicable disease prevention and control and the final consultancy report (Expected date of delivery: the earliest between 31 Dec 2023
and the end of the consultancy)

• Deliverable 3.1: Participate in seminars, workshops, technical meetings, etc. in the Law development process and provide expertise inputs in the discussion.
• Deliverable 3.2: Perform any other related duties, as required by the respective responsible officer and manager.
• Deliverable 3.3: End-of consultancy report.

4. Specific requirements

a. Qualifications required:

Essential:

• An advanced degree (Master’s level or above) in public health or medicine from an accredited/recognized institute.

Desirable:

• PhD degree in public health or medicine from an accredited/recognized institute.

b. Experience required:

Essential:

• Experience in developing and implementing strategies and policies on health including Laws, Decrees, Circulars.
• At least 10 years of experience in the field of prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.

Desirable:

• 15 years working experience in state management agencies in the field of preventive medicine.
• Experience in working and coordinating with Departments under the Ministry of Health, relevant Ministries, Office of the Government and agencies of the National Assembly.
• Involved in in the development of the CDC Law 2007.

c. Skills / Technical skills and knowledge:

• Ability to work independently and in groups.

d. Language requirements:

• Good communication and writing skills in English.
• Knowledgeable in English for public health related majors.

5. Place of assignment

The consultant will work from home when not attending relevant meetings, workshops etc.

6. Medical clearance

• The selected Consultant will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.

Those who are interested can submit the following documents:

• Most updated CV
• Technical proposal with detailed budget break-down

Please indicate post title and vacancy notice # and should be addressed to:

Administrative Officer

World Health Organization
UN Building, 304 Kim Ma Street,
Hanoi, Viet Nam

OR
[email protected]

Before/by 24 October 2023.

For further information on this TOR, please contact:
[email protected]

Organization: WHO
Location:
Application deadline: 2023-10-24
Send application to: [email protected]