Terms of Reference for a Consultant to Conduct a Situational Analysis on the State of Quality Care in Somaliland

Terms of Reference for a consultant to conduct a situational analysis on the state of quality care in Somaliland

Purpose

The consultant will support the Ministry of Health Development (through a project led by King’s College University London) to develop a situational analysis on the current state of quality of health care in Somaliland in order to inform development of national quality policy and strategy. This includes quality of care at both hospital and community health centre level.

Background

The Somaliland Ministry of Health Development is seeking to develop a national quality improvement strategy, and to build implementation capacity in the country. Limited resources, weak infrastructure and a complex health eco-system have presented obstacles to governance, coordination, and accountability on quality of care in the country.

A preliminary assessment at Borama Regional Hospital identified multiple issues- including lack of governance for safety and quality, low staff capacity, poor documentation, and inadequate infection prevention control-meeting less than half of the WHO’s core criteria for patient safety. At the primary care level there are complex challenges relating to clinical practice and supervision, and no culture or system for quality improvement.

This project brings together the WHO, King’s College London and the Ministry of Health Development to kick off a national effort to prioritise quality improvement measures in order to improve health outcomes of people in Somaliland. King’s Global Health Partnerships are increasingly focused on quality and have strong operational experience of QI methodology amongst the King’s Health Partners volunteer pool. Our WHO partners have supported several LMIC governments on national QI strategy. By applying an evidence-based quality improvement approach we seek to maximise health gains within existing resources, reduce patient harm and advocate for a culture shift that supports providers to deliver quality care, and for users to demand it from their providers.

 

 

Total number of days: Minimum 20 days, with possibility of 10 additional days as needed (to be agreed by the partnership team)

Daily Rate: £195 per day (Approximately $268 USD per day)

Education and Experience

Education

Masters degree in public health, global health, social sciences or a related field

Experience and Skills

• At least 5 years demonstrable programmatic or MEL experience in health care quality or health system strengthening programs in the context of developing countries
• Experience conducting situational analysis or evaluations in health care quality policy.
• Experience in research and data collection methodologies and frameworks
• Good understanding of policy issues as relates to health care quality
• Proven experience of conducting similar assignments in the past
• Experience working with Ministries of Health or with international organisations
• Sound knowledge in national policy setting, experience in national quality policy and strategy a plus
• Excellent communication and writing skills.
• Experience and knowledge in stakeholder analysis and mapping in developing counties
• Ability to conduct both qualitative and quantitative analyses.

Language skills and Reasoning Ability

Ability to effectively communicate information and data in written and verbal form in English and Somali language to colleagues, senior management, government officials and the public; possess well-developed writing skills, including the ability to write public materials and reports for various constituencies

Work locations: Primarily Hargeisa with travel to Borama and the Awdal region

About King’s Global Health Partners and the King’s Somaliland Partnership:

King’s Global Health Partnerships has been working with partners in Somaliland to strengthen the health system for over 20 years. We bring together the health, academic, and international development communities, grounding our work in high-quality research, clinical and development expertise, and in-depth knowledge of the people and places in which we work. We are based within King’s College University London but through strategic partnerships with King’s Health Partners we are able to draw on the expertise of skilled staff and volunteers from across the university and three leading NHS Trust hospitals. We combine these strengths with the skills and expertise of the international development sector to deliver high impact health systems strengthening programmes, that bring mutual benefit to Somaliland and UK health institutions and deliver value for money.

Deadline for application is:  21 October 2021

Anticipated start date is: 1 November 2021

Please send CV and cover letter to: kghp@kcl.ac.uk

References will be requested from successful candidates- please do not send unless requested.