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Result of Service
The assignment will result in:
- Increased participation of the 10 original countries
- Consolidated list of priority health products submitted to APPM
- Demand consolidated list and procurement plans
Work Location
Work Remotely
Expected duration
6.0
Duties and Responsibilities
Background
The African Union, through Africa CDC, is implementing the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM) to improve equitable, affordable, and sustainable access to quality-assured health products across Member States. The initiative builds on the pooled procurement work initiated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), which laid the foundation for regional collaboration, demand aggregation and strategic procurement of priority health commodities, which transitioned to Africa CDC as part of the broader implementation of the APPM.
Significant progress has been made in expanding the scope of the pooled procurement mechanism including products and participation. The current product portfolio has expanded from 10 Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health (RMNCH) products to over 100 including Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs); Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs); mental health; medical countermeasures products for outbreaks, vaccines and diagnostics. With current mandate to facilitate participation to the 55 member states, eight countries have signed the APPM MoU, which is expected to increase over the next months. Of these, only one (Rwanda) has signed, whilst Kenya and Ethiopia had confirmed their intent to sign.
As implementation advances, there is a need to consolidate achievements and facilitate Member States engagement and participation to expand geographical coverage and support demand consolidation for an effective pooled procurement.
This consultancy will support Africa CDC in advancing these objectives to facilitate the participation of the member states by building on previous work done through UNECA, whilst providing strategic support for the demand consolidation efforts.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall guidance and coordination with the Technical Lead in APPM for day-to-day operations, key milestones will be reported to UNECA and AfricaCDC.
The consultant will undertake the following tasks:
- Review progress made by the initial ten participating Member States to engage in the APPM to facilitate participation
- Assess current procurement practices, forecasting and demand planning capacities and map out the way forward to support the selection and demand forecasting for the expanded priority product list
- Support the selected countries Technical Working Groups on demand consolidation and procurement planning
- Identify key capacity challenges of the participating countries and recommendations for support.
Qualifications/special skills
- Advanced university degree in Public Health, Pharmacy, Supply Chain Management, Health Economics, Procurement, Business Administration, or a related field.
- Extensive experience in pharmaceutical and health product procurement, supply chain management, and regional health initiatives.
- Demonstrated knowledge of pooled procurement mechanisms and health commodity markets in Africa.
- Experience working with African Union institutions, Regional Economic Communities, Member States, and international development partners.
- Excellent analytical, stakeholder engagement, report writing, and presentation skills. Provide technical and strategic support to strengthen Member States’ participation in the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM). Assess country readiness, procurement practices, forecasting and demand-planning capacities, and support Technical Working Groups in selecting and quantifying priority health products, consolidating demand, and strengthening procurement planning. Facilitate Member State engagement, identify capacity and implementation gaps, and develop recommendations to expand participation and strengthen regional pooled procurement. The work supports Africa CDC’s scale-up of APPM and contributes to equitable, affordable and sustainable access to quality-assured priority health products across Africa.
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in one of the two languages is required. Working knowledge of the other one is an asset.
Additional Information
Not available.
No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.
