CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO SUPPORT THE REVITALIZATION OF THE HEALTH SERVICES FUND IN ZIMBABWE

The UNICEF Zimbabwe Country Office is seeking Expression of Interest (EOI) from qualified institutions to enter into a multi-year contract to Support the Revitalization of the Health Services Fund.

Background: The Health Transition Fund (HTF) is a multi-donor pooled fund, managed by UNICEF, to support the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MoHCW) in Zimbabwe to “achieve the highest possible level of health and quality of life for all Zimbabweans.” The goal of the HTF is to reduce maternal and child mortality through abolishing user fees and supporting high impact interventions and health system strengthening.

The Health Services Fund (HSF) was established in 1996 to expand and improve service delivery through decentralized funding to district hospitals and rural health clinics. Generally, user fees are collected, pooled and re-distributed through the HSF to pay for non-salary recurrent costs. The HTF aims to strengthen this existing financing mechanism to cover selected running costs and maintenance expenses of health facilities. The types of costs covered by the HSF will primarily be non-capital investments and include utilities, basic commodities and maintenance, and funding for community outreach interventions.

The MoHCW and World Bank, with World Bank support through Cordaid, are implementing Results-based Financing (RBF) in 18 districts. Under RBF, funds are disbursed to approximately 400 rural health facilities according to the quantity and quality of services provided. Health facilities and district health executive teams (DHETs) receive technical assistance in financial management. RBF is being implemented outside of the HSF. It will therefore be critical that the HSF and Cordaid work closely to ensure coordinated and consistent financial support to health facilities.

Scope of Assignment: The Institution is expected to support the revitalization of the HSF in 62 districts within 10 provinces through implementation of the following key tasks:

I. Disbursement of Funds • Administration of HSF funds according to generally accepted accounting principles • Timely release of funding on a regular basis to approximately 1400 health facilities, based on allocations determined by the MoHCW • Notify facilities of transfer and confirm receipt

II. Technical Assistance and Monitoring • Provide technical support to the MoHCW to revise the “HSF Financial and Accounting Procedures Manual” • Reorient and train MoHCW accountancy and financial officers using the revised “HSF Financial and Accounting Procedures Manual” • Facilitate, with the MoHCW, consideration of alignment to the Result-based Financing model, currently operating in 18 districts • Support MoHCW autonomy and accountability by building capacity of 62 DHETs to report to Provincial Medical Directors on funds utilization, and to provide supportive supervision and technical guidance in financial reporting to health facilities, using outcomes of UNICEF’s Harmonized Assurance of Cash Transfers (HACT) micro-assessments • Assist MoHCW in developing and/or revising existing tools for DHETs to record results of supervisory visits • Support the MoHCW to establish/strengthen tracking mechanisms and database at district, provincial and national level to collect and analyze data on disbursements and expenditures on recurrent costs • Building upon lessons learned from the World Bank/Cordaid initiative, assist MoHCW to integrate into supportive supervision, tracking mechanisms and the database quality assurance of service delivery, including adapting the MoHCW/Cordaid Quality Questionnaire for use by DHETs • Review funds utilization reports from the ten provinces and identify and address any variances between planned and actual expenditure • Support MoHCW to review payments to health facilities through the HSF • Conduct an annual financial audit of HSF disbursements and expenditures at randomly selected health facilities in all provinces

Qualifications: Interested Institutions should meet the following minimum qualifications: 1. Strong experience in providing technical support to, and building capacity of, public sector financial management systems 2. Expertise in public sector budgeting, forecasting and analysis 3. Knowledge of public health sector financing systems in Zimbabwe 4. Proven ability to disburse funds to multiple recipients on a timely, efficient and transparent basis

How to apply:

At this stage, UNICEF is requesting Expression of Interest from Institutions interested in competing for a multi-year contract to support the revitalization of the HSF. Interested Institutions should submit detailed and complete institutional profile information and documents, together with a written “Expression of Interest” in response to this advertisement. Information provided will be reviewed to assess each Institution’s suitability to be included in the upcoming competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process.

If your Institution is interested in participating in the planned solicitation and meets the requirements with suitable experience, please reply to this EOI with the reference: “UNICEF Zimbabwe HSF Revitalization Support Consultancy” by either email or mail no later than 5:00PM Harare local time on Friday, 25 May 2012. We strongly encourage responses at the earliest, as Institutions that express interest may begin to receive the RFP documents prior to the closing date. Email responses should be addressed to supplyzim@unicef.org. Mailed responses can be sent to The Supply Unit, UNICEF Harare Office, 6 Fairbridge Avenue, P.O. Box 1250, Belgravia, Harare, Zimbabwe.