CONSULTANT (PHACT PHRL)

The purpose of the consultancy is to provide support to the development of provincial public health act and strengthening of PHRL.

The Public Health Act is crucial for Balochistan for improving healthcare infrastructure, preventing and controlling diseases through vaccination, promoting health education and awareness, ensuring environmental health and enhancing healthcare governance. This Act will enable the establishment of hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities, improving access to healthcare services in Balochistan. Through this Act, the establishment of a disease surveillance system will be facilitated and governed, allowing for early detection and response to outbreaks. By implementing the Public Health Act, Balochistan can strengthen its healthcare system, improve health outcomes, and protect the health and well-being of its population.

The purpose of hiring a Consultant for Public Health Act for Balochistan is to provide technical support in planning, coordination, consultation and finally formulating a well drafted Act to be further shared with the Law Department for further processing.

Public health lab is already functional in Balochistan but needs to enhance its capacity as a reference lab. It will ensure timely detection of and response to vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks.

Planned timelines (subject to confirmation)

Start date:To start as soon as possible

Deliverable 1: Review the available legal and regulatory preventive health frameworks and provide feedback on their efficiency in prevention and control of vaccine preventable diseases

Deliverable 2: Review the available surveillance systems to identify opportunities for effective integration with VPD surveillance system

Deliverable 3: Provide support in the coordination with health, law and S & GAD departments

Deliverable 4: Draft the public health act with consultation of all stakeholders

Deliverable 5: Present the public health act for vetting in Law Department

Deliverable 6: Review the structure and current functional level of public health reference lab and identify the gaps

Deliverable 7: Prepare a proposal for strengthening public health lab and its accreditation in close coordination with NIH

Deliverable 8: Compile feedback and recommendations to support stakeholders in drafting a case to decision makers for need of public health act and strengthening PHRL

The selected Consultant will work on the supervision of:

Responsible Officer: Team Lead – EPI

Manager: WHO Country Representative – Pakistan

Qualifications required:

University degree in medicine or public health is required. Qualification in epidemiology or lab sciences is desirable.

Experience required:

Minimum of 2 year of professional experience of public health is required. Work experience in laboratory field is desirable.

Skills / Technical skills and knowledge:

Language requirements:

Good knowledge of English and local language (Urdu).

Quetta, Pakistan

The selected Consultant will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.

Consultant is expected to pay local field visits to different districts, and it will be covered on case by case.