National consultant to support the General Department of Preventive Medicine (GDPM) in coordinating the development of the draft law on disease prevention and regulations on basic health service packages

A national consultant to support the General Department of Preventive Medicine (GDPM)  in coordinating the development of the draft law on disease prevention and regulations on basic health service packages

I. Background

The global LHSS project helps low- and middle-income countries transition to sustainable, self-funded health finance systems that support high-performing overall health systems. The LHSS activity in Vietnam will work with the Government of Vietnam (GVN) to advance greater local ownership of HIV and TB prevention and control. Led by Abt Associates, the four-year activity will support Vietnam in increasing its domestic financing for HIV and TB services in the context of declining donor funding, using government resources more efficiently, and assuming local ownership of HIV and TB prevention and control activities. Specific objectives are: (1) Support the GVN to strengthen its public financial management systems for public sector health and find greater efficiencies in social health insurance (SHI), (2) Increase and improve the efficiency of domestic financing of HIV prevention and treatment services; (3) Strengthen the capacity of Vietnam's supply chain management system; and (4) Transition of TB services into SHI.

Over the past 15 years, the implementation of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases has revealed both achievements and shortcomings. These shortcomings include policy-related obstacles and outdated provisions that no longer align with practical needs, requiring revision and supplementation. To address these issues and align with the directives of the Central Party, National Assembly, Government, and Prime Minister, a new law is under development. This law aims to fill legal gaps, enhance preventive measures, and improve healthcare, especially the inclusion of provisions on ensuring financial resources for preventive health.  To date, the GDPM as the focal point department under the MOH leadership, has submitted to the Government a proposal to develop the Disease Prevention Law and proposed its inclusion in the Law and Development Program of the National Assembly in 2025. The intended plan is to hear consideration and feedback on the draft law at the 10th meeting session of the 15^th National Assembly cycle in October 2025 and to pass the draft law at the 11th meeting session in May 2026.

In addition, the GDPM is the lead department for the development of economic-technical norms for medical inspection and preventive health services at public health facilities, including TB and HIV. At this stage, the GDPM has requested the focal point department under the Ministry of Health to propose respective services along with economic-technical norms, and professional procedures for these services, totaling 1,548 services.

In alignment with LHSS’s role to support the development of a broader preventive health services package to be delivered through the primary health care network and recommended public services for use with GVN funding,  LHSS will mobilize a national consultant to provide technical support to the GDPM in coordinating the development of the Draft Law on Disease Prevention and Regulations on Basic Health Service Packages and related health prevention policies from the Ministry of Health.

II. Tasks and Deliverables:

Tasks:

1. Synthesizing and reviewing the Ministry of Health's and relevant agencies' comments on the draft disease prevention law:

• Summarizing and reviewing the comments received from relevant MOH units and ministries.
• Identifying the content requiring feedback and adjustments in the draft law.

2. Connecting with experts in various fields to gather their opinions and feedback:

• Mobilize experts from relevant fields to gather opinions and propose adjustments to the draft law.
• Organizing meetings to discuss and gather feedback from experts.

3. Synthesizing expert opinions:

• Synthesizing expert’s opinions/feedback for responding to relevant units and agencies.

4. Updating the law development dossier and related documents:

• Monitoring and updating the dossier of disease prevention law development and related documents as per the requests of relevant agencies.

5. Preparing progress reports on the law development:

• Preparing regular and ad-hoc reports on the progress of disease prevention law development for the Institute, Ministry of Health, and relevant agencies.

6. Basic health service packages:

• Monitoring, updating progress, and the Ministry of Health's guidance on issuing regulations on package lists, guiding the establishment of economic and technical norms, and price frameworks.
• Organizing/coordinating with Ministry of Health units to implement tasks related to issuing basic health service packages and implementation guidance.

7. Policies related to financial aspects for preventive health including HIV and tuberculosis:

• Monitor and update the progress of the development and issuance of related policies by the Ministry of Health.
• Support the VAAC, National Lung Hospital/National Tuberculosis Control Program to effectively participate in relevant activities in policy development and revision.

Deliverables:

• Monthly reports summarizing the work done during the month and the work plan for the following month, along with related products/documents (attached appendix).
• Reporting and payment requests based on actual working time, sent to the LHSS Project via email no later than the 15th of the following month.
• End-of-consultancy reports (according to the Project's template), sent via email no later than 15 working days after the end of the consultancy.

III.    Location and timing:

• The expert's assignment is home-based in Hanoi, with regular consultation with the LHSS team, planned for the period from April to December 2024 for a total of 45 working days. The timeframe from July to December will depend on the next commitment of the funding agency.

IV.    Requirements:

• Graduate degree in medicine, public health, or relevant disciplines. A master's degree is an advantage.
• 10 - 15 years of experience working with the Ministry of Health and related ministries, particularly in the realm of preventive healthcare.
• Good understanding of policies and regulations on preventive healthcare services
• Ability to work effectively with ministries, institutes, hospitals, units in the preventive health sector, and other government agencies.
• Demonstrate the ability to coordinate with agencies at both central and provincial levels, such as institutes, central-level and provincial-level hospitals, as well as preventive healthcare facilities.
• Good communication and writing skills
• Language requirement: Vietnamese.

V.      Management of the assignment

All deliverables must be reviewed by the LHSS Technical officer and approved by the Technical Director. The consultant can direct questions to the Technical Director throughout the consultancy.

To apply, please send your CVs and an application letter to the following email: [email protected]

Deadline: April 17, 2024.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews.