وظائف منظمة الصحة العالمية بالقاهرة The World Health Organization
consultancy - to collect information at the country level using updated global and national sources from surveillance systems on NCDs - (2202360)
Purpose of consultancy
The purpose of
this consultancy is to collect information at the country level using updated
global and national sources from surveillance systems on NCDs, from all EMR
countries on priority indicators for monitoring various NCDs at primary care
settings where resources are limited with a focus on facility-based indicators
for NCDs including asthma, COPD, diabetes, hypertension and other common cancers
such as breast cancer, cervical cancer, and childhood cancer. And to conduct a
desk review on facility-based indicators that looks at the quality of care for
NCDs in the EMR countries.
Background
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) cause 41 million deaths each year or roughly 71%
of all deaths globally, with about three-quarters of these occurring in low- and
middle-income countries (LMICs). Moreover, an estimated 4 in 5 people aged 30-69
years who die prematurely from NCDs are from LMICs as well. Cardiovascular
diseases, cancers, respiratory diseases, and diabetes contribute 80% of all
premature NCD deaths.
In the EMR, the probability of dying from NCDs between the age of 30 and 70 is
24.5 % (1 in 4 adults will die before age of 70). More than 2.8 million deaths
accounted from NCDs in 2019 of all deaths with an increase of 3% compared to
2016 reported deaths; CVD: > 1.5 million, Cancer: >400 thousand, CRD >200
thousand, DM: 141 thousand and Others: >0.5 million deaths.
Most of these premature deaths from NCDs are largely preventable by enabling
health systems to respond more effectively and equitably to the healthcare needs
of people with NCDs and influencing public policies in sectors outside health
that tackle shared risk factors—namely tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical
inactivity, and the harmful use of alcohol.
Most NCDs are not curable but early detection and treatment can help control
symptoms, prevent and manage exacerbation and complications, thereby, not only
prolonging life but improving the quality of life of people living with NCDs.
The WHO Package of Essential Noncommunicable Disease Interventions (PEN) for
primary care, a technical package developed by WHO and partners, presents
cost-effective NCD clinical interventions that can be delivered with an
acceptable level of quality in low-resource settings. It provides guidance on
early detection and management of NCDs including chronic respiratory diseases
such as asthma and COPD, diabetes, hypertension, and cancers.
Several countries have used or adapted PEN, and other WHO technical packages
like HEARTS for cardiovascular management and HEARTS-D for diabetes management
to their local primary care system, but little is known about the scope, scale,
and performance of the implementation of this intervention as countries continue
to face challenges in programme reporting and tracking patients across service
cascade due to limited capacities in technology and human resources. A globally
agreed comprehensive set of reliable measures of service quality, service
availability, and clinical health outcomes for the facility-based patient and
programme monitoring for NCDs as well as practical and simple digital reporting
tools can address gaps in monitoring.
Currently, WHO is developing a facility-based patient and programme monitoring
framework specifically for NCDs, taking into account existing primary care
monitoring frameworks at global and regional levels.
The consultant
is expected to do the following:
Output 1: Reviewing and analysis of healthcare system response for monitoring
Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) patients at facility level generally and at the
level of Primary Health Care (PHC) in particular, in countries of the WHO-
Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR).
Tasks:
Conduct the exercise on the situation analysis of healthcare system response for
monitoring NCDs facility-level in EMR countries.
Collaborate with focal persons at Ministries of Health to collect data on NCD
record-keeping systems, data collection and indicator reporting, processing, and
indicators generated for monitoring and control NCDs (hypertension,
cardiovascular risk assessment, diabetes, respiratory diseases, cancer, and
others) at PHC facility level in countries of EMR.
Identify data and information gaps in monitoring and control NCDs (hypertension,
diabetes, respiratory diseases, cancer, and others) at PHC facility level in EMR
countries.
Conduct field visits to countries of the EMR to evaluate and document NCD
monitoring at the facility level to support countries in strengthening NCD
responsive health information systems in EMR countries.
Develop tools for practical implementation and tracking of the monitoring
indicators of NCD treatment coverage and control with a focus on hypertension
and diabetes in EMR countries.
Draft case studies and documentation from selected EMR countries on health
system response for monitoring NCDs at PHC level in EMR countries.
Output 2: Development and update of virtual NCD surveillance advocacy and
capacity building material on NCD surveillance and its components, activities,
indicators
Tasks:
Provide technical input in the development and dissemination of the online
course on NCD surveillance, including editing and updating the scripts for all
the modules of the Regional NCD Surveillance training package, which covers the
fundamentals of NCD epidemiology and surveillance in the light of Global
Monitoring Framework (GMF) as the tool to track the implementation of the Global
Action Plan 2013-2020 and the updated roadmap and timelines.
Develop and update the NCD surveillance webpage to reflect regional and country
trends of NCDs and NCD risk factors indicators, ongoing and regular activities
of NCD surveillance unit, advocacy and capacity building material, and reports
of surveys and publications produced by the NCS unit.
Draft case studies on NCD surveillance experiences from countries of the EMR.
There are to document success stories of implementations on the strengthening
health information systems in general and NCD surveillance in particular with
its different components and dimensions.
Output 3: To develop NCD repository and data bank to facilitate accessibility
and useability of data and information on NCDs and NCD risk factors in countries
of the WHO- Eastern Mediterranean Region.
Tasks:
Generate country profiles and country fact sheets from the different data
sources, on national responses for the prevention, control, and management of
NCDs in EMR countries.
To collect, aggregate information and data and produce data visualizations as
needed at country level using updated global & national sources and communicate
with relevant partners including Country offices and focal points.
Other tasks:
Measure the implementation rate and reporting of regular surveys on NCD risk
factors and health system response in countries of the EMR, including STEPS
survey, the assessment of national capacity for the prevention and control of
NCDs, Global School Health Survey, Global Adult Tobacco Survey and others
Document the Digital Health Interventions for NCDs in EMR countries.
Qualifications, experience, skills and languages
Educational Qualifications:
Essential: First university degree in Public Health or related field of International Studies.
Experience
Essential: Up to 5 years of experience working with NCD programmes and related monitoring frameworks with international exposure.
Skills/Knowledge:
Excellent
knowledge of Microsoft Office applications and web tools on research articles
such as pub med.
Demonstrated capacity to produce high-quality writings.
Demonstrated coordination skills and capacity to work across teams and with
different cultures.
Research skills with academic institutions and/or professional organizations.
