Scope of Work (SoW)

Short-Term Pharmacy Workforce Co- Assessor

The USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program- Procurement Supply Management project Ethiopia (GHSC-PSM)

Background

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Global Health Supply Chain Program Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) works to ensure an uninterrupted supply of health commodities in support of U.S. government-funded public health initiatives around the world including Ethiopia. The project provides direct procurement and supply chain management support to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), and USAID’s family planning and reproductive health programs. To support U.S. government-funded global health activities, Global Health Supply Chain Program - Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) manages a wide array of health commodity procurement services and provides related systems-strengthening technical assistance encompassing all elements of a comprehensive supply chain.

The Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Association (EPA) was established in 1975 with the objective of enhancing the profession of pharmacy in Ethiopia and be able to contribute to the creation of health society. It also aimed at promoting ethical practice among members. Moreover, it develops and maintains services, programs, procedures and mechanisms which may better help the public to get quality pharmaceutical services in the country.

The association has so far conducted various assessments in collaboration with different local and international organizations to so as to be able to provide credible information to serve as an input for policy makers/information for action. Specifically, the association conducted a national pharmacy work force assessment in 2010 primarily aiming at providing the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) what the pharmacist to population ratio in the country looked like in order to provide a clear picture of the notion of pharmacy work force in the country.

Currently, there are reports indicating that other health professionals are being deployed to fill the gaps which should have been covered by pharmacy professionals in some remote areas of the country. It is also reported that there is high attrition rate and vivid disparities in the distribution/density of pharmacy professionals among regional states. To alleviate the gap, some regional governments are making preparations to aggressively train pharmacy technicians which was discouraged some years back. The shortage of pharmacy work force might have occurred due to limited intake capacity of the existing pharmacy schools in the country or unbalanced distribution of pharmacy workforce between the public and private sectors. This definitely has a serious impact on the quality of health services in general and the quality of pharmaceutical services of in particular. Although a national pharmacy workforce study was conducted by the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Association in the past, it is now almost 8 years since the first study was conducted. Hence, it is important to conduct a national pharmacy work force study so as to be able to produce an objective evidence to serve as an input for appropriate intervention.

As part of its support to EPA, GHSC-PSM will provide technical and financial support to conduct this national assessment on Pharmacy Workforce in Ethiopia. Accordingly, GHSC-PSM plans to recruit a co-assessor who will be responsible to lead the national assessment on pharmacy workforce in close collaboration with the lead- assessor, EPA, GHSC-PSM and technical committee.

  1. GOAL OF THE ASSESSMENT

The goal of this assessment is to generate a reliable and current evidence on the pharmacy workforce situation and disseminate the result to inform policy makers and program implementers on the pharmacy workforce situation and needs of the country.

  1. OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSESSSMENT
  2. GENERAL OBJECTIVE
  • To assess pharmacyworkforcein Ethiopia.
  • SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
  • To determinedensityofpharmacy workforce per100,000population
  • To assess the level of distribution of pharmacy workforcebyregion and sector
  • To assess pharmacy work force deployment against the national standard
  • To project the pharmacy work force demandby2030
  • To determinelossrate of‘pharmacy workforce
  • To assess level of job satisfaction and plan to changework-life ofpharmacy workforce
  • And to assess other aspects relevant to pharmacy workforce.
  1. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CO-ASSESSOR
  • Assist the lead assessor to prepare and submit the study protocol and tools for local ethical review after securing concurrence from the technical committee where all relevant stakeholders are represented
  • Assist the lead assessor to prepare both quantitative and qualitative data collection tools
  • Assist the lead assessor to pre-test the data collection tools and amend accordingly
  • Assist the lead assessor to prepare a sound and detailed logistics proposal
  • Assist the lead assessor in delivering training to supervisors and data collectors.
  • Assist the lead assessor to conduct Focus group discussions (FGD) and high-level key informant interviews
  • Assist the lead assessor to oversee the execution of the research as per the design and guide the supervisors.
  • Assist the lead assessor to report the progress achieved in executing the planned research framework
  • Assist the lead assessor to prepare data entry templates and assist the data entry clerks
  • Assist the lead assessor to conduct data cleaning, analysis, interpretation and report writing
  • Assist the lead assessor to present the research findings in the pre-validation workshop and incorporate comments.
  • Assist the lead assessor to present the research findings in the validation workshop and incorporate comments.
  • Assist the lead assessor in developing the final report to the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Association and GHSC-PSM.
  1. QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE
  • Degree in pharmacy and master’s degree preferably in pharmacy or MPH.
  • More than seven years practical experience in research/consultancy preferably in the pharmaceutical sector or health work force.
  • Having additional academic background in human resource for health is preferable.
  • Have at least one experience in designing different national and international studies/assessments.
  • Demonstrated experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative research, especially larger-scale research projects.
  • Have a strong professional conduct and commitment to his/her profession and recognized by different institutions.
  • Have at least one published research output preferably in the area of health work force.
  • Have good knowledge and experience with statistical tools
  • Excellent interpersonal skills, sound judgment, and communication skills
  • Having strong passion and commitment in meeting the agreed deadlines
  • Having the ability to work in a team
  1. ADMINISTRATION
  • The co-assessor/consultant will directly report to designee of GHSC-PSM Program Ethiopia, Technical Committee, and Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Association.
  • The co- assessor will meet with the technical committee every two weeks. When the need arises, the chairperson of the Technical Committee can call a meeting.
  • All technical issues of the assessment will be led and monitored by the Technical Committee.
  • All research related costs will be covered by the GHSC-PSM Program.
  • The co- assessor shall treat any information obtained in the course of the agreement as confidential and is not entitled to make any report about the findings.
  • All deliverables shall be reported to EPA and GHSC-PSM.
  1. DELIVERABLES
  • Study protocol/proposal
  • Data collection tool/s
  • Raw data in soft and hardy copies (both qualitative and quantitative)
  • Draft assessment report ready for validation workshop
  • Validation workshop proceeding
  • Final assessment report
  1. LEVEL OF EFFORT AND TIMELINE
  • The co- assessor/consultant will have around 50 days of LOE as per the following estimate within the timeline April – July 2018
  • Develop study protocol/proposal accepted by the technical committee: 8 days
  • Develop data collection tool and provide training to data collectors: 8 days
  • Pre-test methodology and amend accordingly: 2 days
  • Oversee data collection: 10 days
  • Data entry and development of the draft assessment report for technical committee review: 15 days
  • Validation workshop and proceeding writing: 3 days
  • Produce final assessment report incorporating the workshop feedback: 4 days