NGO Jobs in Kenya – USAID

SHOPS Plus: Engaging Kenya’s Private Health Sector in DHIS2
 
IT Consultant - DHIS2 Platform

Background:
 The Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus project is USAID’s global flagship initiative in private sector health. 

The overall purpose of the project is to improve health outcomes and increase the use of priority health services through the strategic engagement of the private sector in health systems. 

The project concentrates on family planning and reproductive health; maternal, newborn, and child health; and HIV and AIDS.

SHOPS Plus currently is seeking a consultant to assist with an effort to pilot the use of DHIS2 as a platform to both 

(1) increase private sector data sharing with government health management information systems (HMIS), and

(2) improve management and use of routine data by private sector facilities.

The pilot will focus on family planning services delivered through private drug shops and pharmacies in Kenya. 

SHOPS Plus will explore opportunities to use existing IT solutions that are compatible with DHIS2 to simplify and reduce burdensome reporting processes. 

Such platforms provide an opportunity to provide rapid feedback that can help strengthen providers’ business practices (e.g., data on usage rates and method mix), thereby demonstrating the value of the system and increasing participating providers’ support for the system.

Analysis of DHS data shows that the private sector is an important source of family planning users around the world, especially for youth populations. 


 {Ugaz, JI, M Chatterjee, JN Gribble, S Mitchell. 2015. Regional trends in the use of short-acting and long-acting contraception accessed through the private and public sectors. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.}

{SHOPS Project. 2015. Reaching Youth with Modern Contraception. Bethesda, MD: Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector, Abt Associates.}
With its flexibility and simplicity, DHIS2 presents an opportunity to implement an easy-to-use, simple reporting system that providers can use to record their service delivery statistics and share routine service delivery data with the national HMIS. 

Many country governments and larger private sector organizations have already started using DHIS2 to this end, yet significant gaps remain in the private health sector. Independent private health care providers, especially at the drug shop and pharmacy level, have largely not adopted any means of participating in government HMIS.

 National governments, who increasingly use routine data to monitor progress, therefore see an incomplete picture. 

Improving private sector participation is therefore essential to gaining an accurate understanding of family planning use in a country, monitoring progress toward global FP2020 goals, and developing health sector strategic plans. 

In addition, improving data management will also have a benefit to the private providers themselves, as they will have better and more frequent data to help them better plan, budget, and forecast needs for their facilities. 

The pilot will have four phases:
 
1. Pilot design: Work with relevant stakeholders to develop a recruitment strategy identify pharmacies to target for participation; agree to reporting requirements; identify current barriers to reporting among pharmacies; and adapt systems to connect with DHIS2 platform for pilot. 
 
2. Recruitment of drug shops and pharmacies: Develop and use a business case that outlines the potential benefits for providers from improving their reporting of routine data to recruit participants for pilot that vary in terms of size, type, location, etc. 
 
3. Pilot implementation: During this period, SHOPS Plus will provide technical assistance to the pilot facilities, public sector officials, and other stakeholders to facilitate reporting of FP statistics. 

Activities will include training participating providers on the reporting requirements and systems, providing supervision and mentorship to pilot participants, review reports for data quality issues, and troubleshoot any problems. 

The consultant will also facilitate between SHOPS Plus project staff, Ministry of Health officials, and pilot participants to ensure that all participating pharmacies and drug shops have access to the necessary registers, as well as data collection and reporting forms. 

The implementation will be broken up into two phases: a 1-2 month training period followed by a 6-month pilot period. 
 
4. Pilot learning: Over the course of the pilot period, SHOPS Plus will analyze collected data to determine if there are changes in the amount, quality (e.g., accuracy, precision, completeness, timeliness, consistency, etc.), frequency, and usability of data from participating facilities in the public sector HMIS. 
 
SHOPS Plus seeks to recruit an IT Consultant to work with the project team to appropriately adapt DHIS2 for use by the private drug stores and pharmacies for data entry, data analysis and report generation. 

The pilot project will work with the key stakeholders and the enrolled drug stores and pharmacies to identify the relevant data elements and indicators that need to be collected. 

This will be reconciled against the current data capture form in DHIS2 ‘Facility Contraceptive Consumption and Request Form’ to isolate any gaps. 

The LOE of 35 days is estimated to complete the task with a period of performance start from October 15, 2016 to June 30, 2017. 

The consultant will report to SHOPS Plus project staff and will be responsible to work with MOH and UON to:
1.    Customize or update an appropriate data capture form in DHIS2 to allow for comprehensive data collection, analysis and use by drug stores and pharmacies based on the consensus built amongst the stakeholders. [3 days]
2.    Update DHIS2 with the relevant organizational details necessary to allow for data set mapping. [1 day]
3.    Map and assign the enrolled drugstores and pharmacies all the relevant data entry forms in DHIS2 necessary to meet the data element and indicator calculation requirements. [2 days]
4.    Design standard reports and dashboard analytical visuals appropriately worked using the data sets in DHIS and relevant to the stakeholders involved. [2 days]
5.    Ensure all the end-users identified by the drugstores and pharmacies receive an appropriate DHIS2 access credentials to allow for effective use. [2 days]
6.    Contribute to the development of the training material and resources necessary for training the drug stores and pharmacies staff to use DHIS2. [2 days]
7.    Support training by facilitating the relevant technology sections of the training package. [3 days]
8.    Provide onsite technical assistance to pilot participants to trouble shoot and resolve problems relating to DHIS2 platform (15 days)
9.    Participate in the pilot project management meetings as required from time to time. [5 days]
Deliverables
1.    DHIS2 ready for data entry, data retrieval and presentation by users enrolled in the pilot project.
2.    Training material and resources relevant for training the users to use DHIS2 correctly and effectively.
3.    Appropriate end-user training delivered.
4.    Monthly reports of any onsite assistance delivered
Qualifications: 

The successful candidate for this position will have:
  • Experience working with private pharmacies and drug shops in Kenya
  • Demonstrated expertise in HMIS and familiarity with the DHIS2 platform
  • An understanding of relevant indicators used to track family planning service statistics
  • Good written and oral communication skills
Applications due by October 05th, 2016

Send applications to:
 Sean_Callahan@abtassoc.com



SHOPS Plus: Engaging Kenya’s Private Health Sector in DHIS2
DHIS2 Training Consultant 

Background: The Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus project is USAID’s global flagship initiative in private sector health. 

The overall purpose of the project is to improve health outcomes and increase the use of priority health services through the strategic engagement of the private sector in health systems. 


The project concentrates on family planning and reproductive health; maternal, newborn, and child health; and HIV and AIDS.

SHOPS Plus currently is seeking a consultant to assist with an effort to pilot the use of DHIS2 as a platform to both 

(1) increase private sector data sharing with government health management information systems (HMIS), and

(2) improve management and use of routine data by private sector facilities. 

The pilot will focus on family planning services delivered through private drug shops and pharmacies in Kenya. 

SHOPS Plus will explore opportunities to use existing IT solutions that are compatible with DHIS2 to simplify and reduce burdensome reporting processes. 

Such platforms provide an opportunity to provide rapid feedback that can help strengthen providers’ business practices (e.g., data on usage rates and method mix), thereby demonstrating the value of the system and increasing participating providers’ support for the system.

Analysis of DHS data shows that the private sector is an important source of family planning users around the world, especially for youth populations. 
{Ugaz, JI, M Chatterjee, JN Gribble, S Mitchell. 2015. Regional trends in the use of short-acting and long-acting contraception accessed through the private and public sectors. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.}
{SHOPS Project. 2015. Reaching Youth with Modern Contraception. Bethesda, MD: Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector, Abt Associates.}
With its flexibility and simplicity, DHIS2 presents an opportunity to implement an easy-to-use, simple reporting system that providers can use to record their service delivery statistics and share routine service delivery data with the national HMIS. 

Many country governments and larger private sector organizations have already started using DHIS2 to this end, yet significant gaps remain in the private health sector. 

Independent private health care providers, especially at the drug shop and pharmacy level, have largely not adopted any means of participating in government HMIS. 

National governments, who increasingly use routine data to monitor progress, therefore see an incomplete picture. 

Improving private sector participation is therefore essential to gaining an accurate understanding of family planning use in a country, monitoring progress toward global FP2020 goals, and developing health sector strategic plans. 

In addition, improving data management will also have a benefit to the private providers themselves, as they will have better and more frequent data to help them better plan, budget, and forecast needs for their facilities. 
 
The pilot will have four phases:
 
1.  Pilot design: Work with relevant stakeholders to develop a recruitment strategy identify pharmacies to target for participation; agree to reporting requirements; identify current barriers to reporting among pharmacies; and adapt systems to connect with DHIS2 platform for pilot. 
 
2. Recruitment of drug shops and pharmacies: Develop and use a business case that outlines the potential benefits for providers from improving their reporting of routine data to recruit participants for pilot that vary in terms of size, type, location, etc. 
 
3. Pilot implementation: During this period, SHOPS Plus will provide technical assistance to the pilot facilities, public sector officials, and other stakeholders to facilitate reporting of FP statistics. 

Activities will include training participating providers on the reporting requirements and systems, providing supervision and mentorship to pilot participants, review reports for data quality issues, and troubleshoot any problems. 

The consultant will also facilitate between SHOPS Plus project staff, Ministry of Health officials, and pilot participants to ensure that all participating pharmacies and drug shops have access to the necessary registers, as well as data collection and reporting forms. 

The implementation will be broken up into two phases: a 1-2 month training period followed by a 6-month pilot period. 

4. Pilot learning: Over the course of the pilot period, SHOPS Plus will analyze collected data to determine if there are changes in the amount, quality (e.g., accuracy, precision, completeness, timeliness, consistency, etc.), frequency, and usability of data from participating facilities in the public sector HMIS. 
 
SHOPS Plus seeks to recruit a DHIS2 training consultant to work with the project team to develop and implement a training curriculum that builds the skills and competencies of private pharmacies and drug stores to effectively use DHIS2 for routine operations and reporting. 

The pilot project will work with the key stakeholders and the enrolled drug stores and pharmacies to identify the relevant data elements and indicators that need to be collected. 

To complete the task an LOE of 52 days is estimated with a period of performance starting from October 15, 2016 to June 30, 2017. 

The consultant will report to SHOPS Plus project staff and will be responsible to work with the project team:
1.    Review of existing DHIS2 training curriculum and participate/facilitate sessions of stakeholders’ meetings to isolate and document the skills and competencies the training will impart.  [4 days]
2.    Take lead and coordinate PPB, RHU, PSU to develop a use case to be used for training [3 days]
3.    Develop facilitators’ and participants’ training manuals including pre and post-training assessments, pilot test the materials [6 days]
4.    Coordinate recruitment, orientation and training of facilitators [7 days]
5.    In coordination with key stakeholders develop the training program [2 days]
6.    Coordinate delivery of the actual trainings, including taking a key role as the lead training facilitator [4 days]
7.    Report writing [2 days]
8.    Conduct ongoing support to participating pharmacies (24 days)
Deliverables
1.    Training skills and competencies summary.
2.    Training facilitators’ and participants’ manual.
3.    Training use case.
4.    Complete recruitment and orientation of facilitators.
5.    Training program
6.    Training report
Qualifications: 

The successful candidate for this position will have:
  • Experience working with private pharmacies and drug shops in Kenya
  • Demonstrated expertise in HMIS and familiarity with the DHIS2 platform
  • An understanding of relevant indicators used to track family planning service statistics
  • Good written and oral communication skills
  • Experience developing and implementing training programs
Applications due by October 05th, 2016

Send applications to: Sean_Callahan@abtassoc.com