Local Health System Sustainability (LHSS) Vietnam
A NATIONAL CONSULTANT
To collect public health expenditure data for updating the National Health Account (NHA)
I. BACKGROUND
1.1. Local Health System Sustainability (LHSS) Project in Vietnam
The global USAID 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, in using government resources more efficiently, and in 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) Integrate TB services into SHI.
1.2. Context of the assignment
Sufficient data on financing the health sector is important as it provides a framework of the main aggregated resource of health expenditures and health financing systems so that policymakers and analysts can approach to monitor and analysis of the health system. It is useful for defining internationally harmonized boundaries of health care for tracking expenditure on consumption. A good database on health finance can help inform policy and decision making on spending in the health sector. Vietnam’s National Health Account system is serving at these functions as it organizes the data by source of funding, providers, factors of provision, financing agent and financing scheme, as well as on the Social Health Insurance scheme. Besides, it provides an overview of HIV/AIDS expenditure and the magnitude and flows of finances to specific disease areas like tuberculosis, malaria, and maternal and child health. Currently, Vietnam’s National Health Account is updated from 2000-2018. While this resource information provided critical information about the landscape of resource flows, it includes some estimated data for the missing sources. Particularly, data in 2018 was constructed by the estimation from the WHO and World Bank based on the previous trend.
There is a need to update this source of data to reflecting new development in both regulation and practice of health financing in Vietnam. Firstly, the public sector accounting system has been updated with the new regulation (i) the introduction of the Circular No. 107/2017/TT-BTC dated 10 October 2017 of the Ministry of Finance on guiding the public sector accounting; (ii) the e-claim verification information system of VSS, which real-time tracking the claim data from health facilities, has been upgrading from 2017; (iii) the health expenditure data now is more and more comprehensive and accurate over time. Meanwhile, LHSS is conducting landscape research on public expenditure in the health sector in Vietnam in connection to the overall picture of health expenditure. An updated dataset for health financing is important and contributive to this assignment too.
In this context, LHSS Vietnam is seeking national consultants to assist LHSS Vietnam to conduct collect data in the state budget and social health insurance fund to identify and evaluate the development of public health spending in Vietnam. Click HERE [1] for detailed TOR.
II. OBJECTIVES, TASKS AND DELIVERABLES
The consultants will collect, clean and analyze public health financing data in state budget and social health insurance fund, focusing on the period 2018-2019 and estimated (planned) data for 2020, 2021 where possible to keep the NHA updated.
2.2. Tasks
This assignment requires 02 consultants. The consultants will work with PFM Lead and LHSS Health Financing and Data Specialist, LHSS Vietnam's experts, and relevant Vietnam government counterparts, including the MOH, MOF among others, to complete the following tasks:
Consultant 1: Collecting data from the State Treasury/Ministry of Finance
Consultant 2: Collecting data from Vietnam Social Security
III. LOCATION AND TIMING
This assignment is planned for the period from May 2021 to the end of July 2021.
IV. REQUIREMENTS
4.1. Qualification requirements
- Consultant 1 is expected to meet the following requirements:
- Academic background: Hold a degree in economics, public health, health sociology or health economics or equivalent degrees;
- At least 7 years of professional experience in public health and/or Monitoring and Evaluation and/or financial reporting in the health sector;
- Professional experience and skills in data analysis and collection;
- Experience in information management system for insurance organization is desirable;
- Excellent communication skills and ability to transfer knowledge and skills;
- Good command of English, written and spoken;
- Have experience in collecting data from MoF for the implementation of the National Health Account study is desired.
- Computer skills proficiency, both in standard Office software applications and specialized statistical data analysis packages.
- Consultant 2 is expected to meet the following requirements:
- Academic background: Hold a degree in economics, public health, health sociology or health economics or equivalent degrees;
- At least 7 years of professional experience in public health and/or Monitoring and Evaluation and/or financial reporting in the health sector;
- Professional experience and skills in data analysis and collection;
- Experience in information management system for insurance organization is desirable;
- Excellent communication skills and ability to transfer knowledge and skills;
- Good command of English, written and spoken;
- Have experience in collecting data from VSS for the implementation of the National Health Account study is desired.
- Computer skills proficiency, both in standard Office software applications and specialized statistical data analysis packages.
4.2. Equipment
The consultants use his/her computer and equipment as necessary to carry out the work.
Note: With respect to any reports, data, or information produced by the Consultant in the course of performing tasks under this work order, Abt Associates shall have unlimited rights to use, disclose, reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, perform publicly and display publicly, in any manner and for any purpose, and to have or permit others to do so. The Consultant will fully disclose, deliver, and transfer to Abt Associates and the Consultant irrevocably assigns to Abt Associates its entire right, title, and interest in and to any and all ideas, methods, inventions, devices, and improvements, originating, conceived, acquired, or developed by the Consultant, either solely or jointly with others, in connections with this Consulting Agreement. The provisions of this paragraph shall survive the expiration or termination of this Consulting Agreement.
To apply, please send your application documents to the following email address: p[email protected]
Deadline: 23rd Apr 2021
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews.