Consultant to Conduct a Rapid Needs Assessment Tender - 30774028

Procurement Summary

Country: Albania

Summary: Consultant to Conduct a Rapid Needs Assessment of TB National Reference Laboratory and 12 Regional Laboratories, and Development of SOPs for Sample Management, Transportation and Health Equipment

Deadline: 28 Feb 2019

Posting Date: 18 Feb 2019

Other Information

Notice Type: Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 30774028

Document Ref. No.:

Competition: ICB

Financier: United Nations Secretariat

Purchaser Ownership: -

Tender Value: Refer Document

CPV Classification

79600000 - Recruitment services

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Tender Details

Tenders are invited for Consultant to Conduct a Rapid Needs Assessment of TB National Reference Laboratory and 12 Regional Laboratories, and Development of SOPs for Sample Management, Transportation and Health Equipment.
UNICEF works in some of the world-s toughest places, to reach the world-s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.
Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.
And we never give up. For every child: Health and Nutrition
Background: Albania's national response to TB has been guided by the National Strategy of Prevention and Control of TB in Albania (NSPCTB) 2015-2019. The Ministry of Health and Social Protection (MOHSP) is the principal recipient of the support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). Scope of this support is to build health system capacities to contain the TB epidemic at the current low levels and reduce TB-related morbidity and mortality in Albania.
Following an agreement signed between MOHSP and the UN Agencies, UNICEF will provide support in strengthening procurement and supply management (PSM) of the GF grant in Albania.
The laboratory services play a key role in the diagnosis, treatment and epidemiologic investigation of tuberculosis. Those are one of the DOTS strategy elements and deserve a special attention regarding quality control.
The bacterial diagnosis has improved after 2000. After a period of almost non-existent laboratory services in the districts, in 2000 the majority of laboratories in the districts and laboratories of the former lung diseases hospital were reconstructed and equipped.
Sputum is collected externally, near to the dispensary premises or at home from the patient. The laboratory network in Albania is composed of 17 peripheral laboratories that perform direct microscopy (Berat, Vlora, Lushnja, Durres, Pogradec, Lezha, Elbasan, Burrel, Kukes, Kavaja, Gjirokastra, Fier, Peshkopia, Shkodra, Korca and Tirana) and a National Reference Laboratory (NRLTB) located in the University Hospital of Tirana "Shefqet Ndroqi". The latter performs the culture and the susceptibility testing against first line antitubercular drugs (DST). Two of the above laboratories (the laboratory of Shkodra and of Korca) used to perform culture testing as well for M. tuberculosis, but now this culture testing is only performed at the University Hospital of Tirana.
All the laboratories should send the BK positive samples by mail to the NRLTB for confirmation and culture testing, but this does not happen in practice. One of the main aims of the NTP in the coming years must be to ensure a perfect system of transport of the samples collected from suspected patients from the peripheral laboratories to the NRLTB.
The NRLTB administers 20 samples per day on average. Every sample is directly examined with a microscope and simultaneously cultivated in solid and liquid media. Each strain isolated for the first time is tested for susceptibility against first line TB drugs. Bacteriological examinations are not provided country wide and they are not conducted on a continuous basis.
How can you make a difference:
The main purpose of this consultancy is to assist the National TB Program and the MoHSP in the following:
§ Conduction of a comprehensive assessment of TB National Reference Laboratories and 12 Regional Laboratories and development of a detailed budgeted action plan for strengthening of TB laboratory network.
§ Development of SOP on sample management and transportation.
§ Development of SOP on health equipment and diagnostics as per below description.
The assignment will be conducted by one international consultant in collaboration with UNICEF team, GF PMU and focal points assigned by MOHSP. A national consultant will also be identified by UNICEF and will support the International consultant in this exercise. The international consultant will be required to visit Albania as well as work from his/her place of residence. The main tasks and deliverables for the consultant will be:
§ To conduct a comprehensive assessment with mapping of the existing TB laboratories (central and 12 regional) to assess current infrastructure and equipment, test kits and reagents, and human resource capacities:
§ Overall placement, quantity and utilization (including average throughput) of appropriate diagnostic technologies, at the peripheral laboratories level;
§ Adherence to diagnostic algorithms by laboratory technicians and by clinicians;
§ Laboratory infrastructure, including appropriate biosafety measures;
§ Equipment validation and maintenance;
§ Management of laboratory commodities and supplies;
§ Availability of comprehensive and current laboratory registers and specimen examination request forms;
§ Quantity and quality of trained staff throughout the network;
§ Monitoring of performance indicators;
§ Availability of domestic/external funding; assessment of gaps;
§ To develop a budgeted action plan for strengthening the laboratory infrastructure and services including maintenance, procurement, accreditation of TB laboratories and human resource capacity development;
§ To describe the types of existing laboratory equipment, to recommend and describe requirements and types of additional equipment for procurement in order of priority to ensure quality and high performance of laboratory activities. The list of additional equipment and diagnostics with their specifications should correspond with the national strategy for development of the national TB laboratory services;
§ To recommend how private TB laboratories can be involved in TB control;
§ To describe the current practices of sputum collection, storage, packaging and transportation from the regional to central level, to review existing Laboratory Request Forms and any Chain of Custody/transport forms and their use in the country;
§ In accordance with international standards to recommend what improvements are needed to be introduced in the current practices in terms of the TB-specific considerations for specimen collection, storage, packaging and transport with description of standard requirements for necessary laboratory request forms and reports, for specimen collection, storage & transport processes, including the specimen requirements, storage and transport requirements for GeneXpert MTB/RIF testing ; to recommend human resources improvements together with recommendation on necessary capacity development activities (if and when needed);
§ To propose and describe the setup of a new/modified specimen referral network (including specimen management and transportation) in case such setup is considered to be appropriate;
§ As result, to develop SOPs on specimen collection, storage, packaging and transport that need to be tailored to the country's protocols.
Deliverable 1 - 5 days
§ Desk review and proposed methodology for the assessment.
Deliverable 2 - 10 days
§ Undertake a mission in Albania to conduct rapid needs assessment of TB laboratories;
§ Prepare preliminary report for the TB laboratory assessment and the review of SOPs for sample management and transportation, and health equipment and diagnostics;
§ In close collaboration with UNICEF Country Office and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Albania the consultant will prepare and conduct a meeting to present the results and recommendations, to discuss and agree on the next steps and the action plan.
Deliverable 3 - 5 days
The following documents to be delivered at the end of the consultancy:
§ The final consultancy report in English with assessment of the TB laboratories and recommendations as per above objectives;
§ The detailed budgeted action plan for strengthening the laboratory infrastructure and services including maintenance, procurement, accreditation of TB laboratories and human resource capacity development;
§ In accordance with recommendations for improvement: SOP on sample management and transportation and the proposed setup of a new/modified specimen referral network (including specimen management and transportation) (if such new setup will be recommended);
§ SOP on health equipment and diagnostics including the types of existing laboratory equipment, recommended list of additional equipment and diagnostics with their specifications for procurement.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:
§ Advanced university degree in either of the following relevant specializations: biological sciences, molecular biology, biomedical sciences, laboratory medicine, microbiology and biochemistry or in medicine/public health with additional training in pharmacy, clinical biology, or medical laboratory/biology testing or equivalent.
§ At least 5 years of experience in the domain of diagnostics, medical and laboratory; experience in laboratory techniques including knowledge of procedures for molecular diagnostics, microbiological techniques, immunology, virology and blood safety, quality assurance, etc. and knowledge of TB related diagnostics and TB laboratory facilities and networks.
§ Demonstrated capacity to conduct work assignments similar to the scope of this TOR.
§ Excellent technical and analytical writing skills.
§ Excellent skills in negotiating and working with people.
§ Fluent in English language.
What to submit:
§ Curriculum Vitae;
§ A short concept note specifying the methodology to be used by consultant; how the consultant plans to carry out the work foreseen (max 2-3 pages);
§ Links to previous work related to scope of this TOR;
§ Financial proposal - indicating an all-inclusive cost in US$, with a break down into the following categories:
I. Daily fee;
II.

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