National Consultant (WASH in Health Care Strategy and costed action plan)

National Consultant (WASH in Health Care Strategy and costed action plan)

Duty Station:  Office base- BCO and Partner/IP Office (MoHFW and DGHS)

Contract Duration: 88 working days spread over 4 months 

Number of Vacancies: 01

Contract Type: Contract with E-Zone.

Contract Start Date:  Immediate

Reporting to: Health Specialist, Health Section

A.    Purpose

The Consultant will support the development of a costed national Strategy for WASH in Health Care Facility (HCFs) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW)The consultant will provide technical assistance to DGHS, DGFP and MoHFW to review the related documents and develop costing of the implementation plan, organizing stakeholder workshops,  finalize the plan and facilitate rectification of WASH in HCF strategy and costed action plan from MoHFW.

B.    Background

WASH in Health Care Facilities (HCFs) is an integral part of quality of care. It is a prerequisite for quality of care, including safe, effective and dignified health care services and infection prevention and control. Lack of basic and adequate WASH services in HCFs can endanger patients, service providers and communities.

Therefore, the vision of the SDG for WASH in HCFs is to ensure that by 2030, every HCF, in every setting, has safely managed, reliable water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and practices to meet the needs of staff and patients. In Bangladesh, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government, has developed the first ‘National WASH in Health Care Facility Strategy and Framework for Action (2019-2023)’ with the technical support of UN AGENCY. Through this document, the WASH in HCFs strategy and framework for action were developed, but the gap remains in WASH in HCFs to ensure quality of care. According to the analysis jointly conducted by UN AGENCY and UN AGENCY

 in 2021, the status of basic WASH services in HCFs for water supply is 64%, for sanitation is 31%, for hand hygiene is 38%, for health care waste management is 34%, while there was no insufficient data for environmental cleaning.

As one of the leading agencies on quality improvement, UN AGENCY, together with the University of Oxford and icddr,b conducted a study on water quality in hospitals to generate baseline data on the water quality in line with standards for safely managed water and UN AGENCY essential environmental standards for HCFs. The study revealed that the water quality deteriorated from the source to the final point of use for caregiving in the HCFs. The current approach of prioritizing infrastructure access for basic water services to HCF is negated by secondary contamination of the water from risky designs, suboptimal maintenance and an unhygienic environment. Consequently, vulnerable patients are at risk of infections from exposure to the unsafe water and the hospital environment whilst receiving care. The findings emphasize the need to institutionalize the maintenance of WASH components in HCFs through integrating them into the existing quality improvement process.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is currently developing the National WASH in HCF strategy including a detailed implementation plan which gives a broad guidance to improve WASH in HCFs. To allocate adequate budget for WASH in HCFs, a detailed costing of the action plan should be developed.

C.     Objectives and Expected Results  

Purpose of the assignment is to develop costed implementation plan, analyse existing cost for WASH in HCFs through multi-stakeholders’ consultation process. Collaborate with the MOHFW, DGHS, DGFP, and other key stakeholders, professional bodies and partners identifying the targets and costing of the plan. The consultant will provide technical assistance to DGHS, DGFP and MoHFW to review the related documents and develop costing of the implementation plan, organizing stakeholder workshops,  finalize the plan and facilitate rectification of WASH in HCF strategy and costed action plan from MoHFW.

Specifically, the consultancy will focus on the below objectives:

       a)     To facilitate Governmental Order to form multi stakeholder committee under the leadership of DGHS through MoHFW 

       b)     Identify key costing areas for WASH O&M, capacity development and service delivery with stakeholders and UN AGENCY WASH specialist 

      c)      Facilitate and support the multi-agency costing exercise of the prepared action plan activities 

      d)     Support the review, ratification process of the  WASH in HFC strategy by MoHFW

The expected results of the assignment are:

•         WASH in HCF strategy and costed action plan for prepared and endorsed by DGHS and   DGFP
•          WASH in HCF strategy and costed action plan for reviewed and ratified by MoHFW

D.    Key Tasks and Responsibilities

 Under this assignment, some of the expected tasks include:

1.      Identify and analysis of key costing areas of six domains of WASH in HCF :

a)     Identify key costing areas for WASH O&M, capacity development and service delivery with stakeholders and UN AGENCY WASH specialist

b)     Prepare XLS-based templets for the key costing areas for six domains of WASH in HCF with stakeholders and UN AGENCY WASH specialist

2.      Stakeholder engagement and facilitation:

a)     Establish and facilitate the multi-stakeholder consultation to populate key costing areas for six domains of WASH

b)     Participate in technical discussions with the government departments to finalize costed action plan for WASH in HCF.

c)      Support the dissemination and review of the final multi-stakeholder costing inputs.

3.      WASH in HC Strategy and costed action plan Development:

a)     Submit the final draft of the strategy and costed action plan for review and approval by DGHS and DGFP

4.      Review and rectification process of the WASH in HFC strategy and costed action plan:

a)     Support MoHFW in drafting office order, file notes and meeting notes

b)     Support the process for reviewing and ratification of WASH in HCF strategy and costed action plan by MoHFW through several ministerial consultations.

E.    Deliverables

F.    Payment

The National Consultant will get BDT 1,200,000 for 88 days

G.    Administrative issues

·         For payment by E-Zone on due time, the Supervisor will forward the certified attendance sheet and confirmation of receiving expected deliverables for the respective period.

·         The contractor/consultant will be responsible for paying all taxes as per government rules.

·         Payment will be made upon completion of each deliverable according to the certification of Health Specialist, Health Section, UN AGENCY.

·         The Consultant have to use his/her own Laptop.

·         The consultant will be normally working from home but will be coming to UN AGENCY office as needed, with frequent visits to MoHFW and DGHS.

H.     Qualification requirement of the company/institution/organization 

·         Master’s in health economics/ public health, Master’s in Social Sciences.

·         A degree and/or certified academic qualification in health financing is preferred.

·         At least 10 years working experience in supporting programs that link with development and costing of national programs, national policy, strategy, and guidelines development on related health areas, public health planning, health financing and health system development

·         Preference will be for expertise and knowledge on conducting national plan and budgeting, costing of national programs, program design, implementation and coordination, prior experience in working within or with high level government authority or with government health system.

·         Keen understanding of Bangladesh government’s hierarchy between different Ministries

·         Extensive experience in strategic advocacy and leadership roles within or with the health sector

·         Keen communication and interpersonal skills with ability to influence high level political and strategic leadership positions with evidence, experience and through bringing stakeholder consensus

·         Well versed in computer costing apps/ programs like one health tool, LiST etc, and regular office suite.

·         Excellent English writing skill demonstrated independently without assistive technology.

·         Strong commitment to UN AGENCY mission and values, with a focus on improving health outcomes for mothers and children, high ethical standards, integrity, accountability, adaptability and resilience in face of challenging environments

·         Out of the box thinking with innovative approaches including openness to new ideas not implemented in the country earlier, and those that have been demonstrated in other countries.

I.    Language Requirements

·         Fluency in Bangla and English communication skills are required.

This position is open for Bangladeshi Nationals only. All candidates, irrespective of gender, religious and ethnic backgrounds can apply for the vacancies. 

The UN Agency prides itself as fostering a multicultural and harmonious work environment, guaranteed by a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse, and on any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment and discrimination. All selected consultants will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Last Date of Application:  October 7, 2025 

No phone calls please. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. All applications will be treated according to the merit and with strict confidentiality.