COSTING CONSULTANT

Post Date: August 31, 2012
Deadline: September 12, 2012

Organization: UI-FHS

Purpose: In-country immunization-related exercise for determining cost of implementing an agrarian/pastoralist model using a 3-woreda scenario
Timeframe: 1 September 2012 – 20 December, 2013; level of effort no more than 75 working days, to provide iterative inputs over this time period
Location: Ethiopia (Addis Ababa, Arbegona woreda in SNNPR, Assaieta woreda in Afar, Hintalo Wajerate woreda in Tigray)
Supervisor: Finance and Operations Director
Application Deadline: September 12, 2012

I. Basic Information
This exercise is intended to assist UI-FHS with a key part of its mandate from the FMOH and BMGF—to determine approximate costs to implement a model which seeks to achieve universal immunization in an agrarian and pastoralist context. Included in this exercise are inquiries into what the unit costs of the routine immunization program are in three select woredas (one pastoralist, two agrarian), and what factors drive variation in costs.If new vaccines are introduced during the time frame of the project, then the costing study may need to also include the incremental costs of introducing and scaling up the coverage of these vaccines (e.g. rotavirus vaccine).

II. Background
For more than a decade, Ethiopia has undergone a period of deliberate, rapid and intense change—much of it at community level—and made sizable investments to improve the health of its population. This experience presents an excellent opportunity to take stock of promising interventions and innovations, identify why and how they work, and foster critical thinking and new learning. JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) designed UI-FHS and has recently been awarded a 2.5 years learning grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The project is to be undertaken in close collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), its implementing partner Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland (CVD), and Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI).

The goal of UI-FHS is to develop evidence to inform a FMOH evidence-based decision on whether and how to pursue nationwide universal child immunization in Ethiopia, integrated with family health approaches, and what it will take to do so effectively, affordably and sustainably.
The project’s activities and milestones are organized around three objectives, as follows:

Objective 1: Jointly design and implement a universal child immunization approach through family health in three learning woredas and identify requirements for sustained scale-up.

Objective 2: Jointly design and apply a rigorous package of surveys and diagnostic tools and other methods to fully describe and understand vaccination coverage, population immunity, knowledge-attitudes-practices (KAP), and program performance, while strengthening the capacity of host agencies.

Objective 3: Deepen and broaden stakeholder ownership and engagement in improving routine child immunization performance through family health so as to lay the groundwork for an FMOH decision on the “way forward”.

One specific activity of the UI-FHS project is to develop and disseminate a costed scale out plan for sustainable and universal child immunization based on evidence from three learning woredas. UI-FHS will design and implement a method to generate costing data prospectively, to understand what it takes to achieve universal immunization in both an agrarian and pastoralist context, not only in terms of activities but in terms of cost as well. The consultant will advise the project on a more detailed determination of how to define measurement of “cost”.

III. Overall Objective
This exercise has one broad objective:
• To approximate costs involved in endeavoring to achieve universal immunization in agrarian and pastoralist contexts, using detailed information gathered prospectively in three learning woredas representing three different regions.

IV. Scope of Work and Methodology
The purpose of this scope of work is to help UI-FHS design an effective and practical methodology for its woreda-based costing exerciseanalysis. BMGF senior consultant Dr. Logan Brenzel will provide iterative advice and input into the costing exercise, and therefore the costing consultant will work in close communication and collaboration with Dr. Brenzel and the UI-FHS supervisor.

The expected output of this exercise includes exploration of:
• Incremental cost /level of output
• Cost of technical assistance support (time and costs to the government)
• Estimates of scaling up to similar woredas
• Affordability and comparison with health expenditure
• Establish region by region costs, as there are three different sets of unit costs to be developed for each region
• If new vaccines are introduced during the time frame of this costing study, the scope of work will expand to look atincremental costs of introducing and scaling up the coverage of these vaccines
• The consultant will provide regular updates to and discuss revisions in consultation with BMGF senior consultant Logan Brenzel (PhD), to be agreed upon by UI-FHS

V. Tasks and Deliverables

1. Specific Tasks
a. Work collaboratively with the UI-FHS team, woreda health offices and any relevant government officials at zonal and regional health office
b. Prepare an inception report that details the methodology and approach to be used, including data sources
c. Design and pretest data collection instruments
d. Collect the baseline, midline and endline data in three woredas at WoHO and Primary Health Care Units (PHCUs), including health centers and health posts; collect relevant information from the project office and other donors, and from regional and/or national levels as appropriate
e. Analyze the baseline, midline and endline data using excel and/or STATA
f. Collect secondary data on Government health expenditures and others as relevant
g. Write adraft report and finalize the draft report for baseline, midline and endline periods
h. Prepare a final presentation for discussion with JSI and government staff

2. Deliverables
a. Detailed and budgeted work plan for the costing exercise, including proposed design and methodology, draft tools, timeline, and level of effort; due 31 October, 2012
b. Finalized tools based on pre-testing; due 16 November, 2012
c. Database on information collected at facility, woreda, regional and donor levels; (the data base needs to be easily convertible to Excel) due 21 January, 2013
d. Base-line report summarizing first trip assessment;due 21 January, 2013
e. Mid-term report outlining progress, reflection on approach, and next steps; due 24 June, 2013
f. Final report presenting the woreda-based costing analysis; due December 20, 2013

VI. Competency and Expertise Requirements
The in-country consultant will require expertise and experience in these areas:
• Health finance/health economics background as well as training in public health would be ideal
• Demonstrated data collection and analysis expertise, as well as field experience in Ethiopia (preferred experience in Afar , SNNPR, Tigray)
• Ability to work collaboratively with government, the project office and other donors
• Excellent English communication and writing skills; fluent in Amharic
• Ability to travel to each of the three woredas three times over the consultancy period

Interested applicants are required to submit their CV and references online to the following e-mail address: uifhsrecruit@hotmail.com

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