Strengthening Medical Certification of Cause of Death (MCCoD) in Papua New Guinea

Purpose of the APW

The objective of the proposed Agreement for Performance of Work (APW) is to support the Performance, Monitoring, and Research Branch (PMRB) of the National Department of Health of Papua New Guinea to strengthen the national mortality surveillance system, with a focus on improving reporting of COVID-19 related deaths. This will be done through training on Medical Certification of Cause of Death (MCCoD) in seven provinces with higher rates of mortality (all-cause and COVID related).

 

Background

The WHO Papua New Guinea Country Office is supporting Papua New Guinea to accelerate progress towards the achievement of universal health coverage, and as a consequence, supporting strengthening of national health information and surveillance systems. A key focus is developing local capacity to synthesize data for decision-making and encourage evidence-based policymaking.

There has been an unprecedented increase in global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and deaths caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) etiological agents since the identification of the first cases in December 2019. As of 16 January 2022, Papua New Guinea had reported 36,446 COVID-19 cases and 595 deaths, although these are likely to be underestimations due to limited testing and challenges with certification of COVID-19 related deaths. The latter, combined with low reporting coverage within the national mortality surveillance system and low quality of data, has presented challenges for decision-making around planning and response to COVID-19 in the country.

There is a need to strengthen the mortality surveillance system for both COVID-19 mortality and all-cause deaths monitoring to help drive and measure country impact. Training on MCCoD in provinces will help to improve death registration and cause of death certification. Availability of quality mortality data, in turn, will allow for more accurate estimations of COVID-19 mortality, excess deaths resulting from the pandemic and disruptions to essential services, and support response to future emergencies.

The World Health Organization Papua New Guinea Office is therefore supporting an activity to conduct training on MCCoD for doctors in selected hospitals in seven provinces. This work will complement activities supported by other partners around improving international classification of diseases (ICD) coding at the national level.

 

Planned timelines (subject to confirmation)

• Start date: 30/04/2022
• End date: 30/01/2023

 

Work to be performed

Under the overall guidance of the WHO Representative and the direct supervision of the Strategic Health Information Team, the company/institution will conduct MCCoD training for doctors in seven selected provinces with the highest burdens of COVID-19 and all-cause mortality.

 

Method(s) to carry out the activity

• • Development of training materials and assessment tools;
• • Visits to 7 provinces, organizing and conducting MCCoD training;
• • Assessments of MCCoD practices pre- and post-training;
• • Data analysis and synthesis; and
• • Drafting of progress and final reports.

 

Specific outputs:

In collaboration with the Papua New Guinea NDoH PMRB and the WHO Papua New Guinea Health Systems and Health Emergencies Teams, the contractual partner will deliver the following output:

Output 1: Provide Medical Certification of Cause of Death (MCCoD) capacity building training in seven selected high-risk provinces.

Deliverable 1.1: Final training plans for the selected seven high-risk provinces, developed in collaboration with WHO and NDOH PMRB.

Deliverable 1.2: Final MCCoD training materials (complete set of course modules), with edits from NDoH PMRB and WHO reviews incorporated

Deliverable 1.3: Baseline and post-MCCoD training assessment tools developed to review and collect data on medical death certificates in the seven selected provinces to assess practices pre- and post-training

Deliverable 1.4: Progress report summarizing baseline assessments of medical death certificates and MCCoD trainings conducted in three provinces

Deliverable 1.5: Progress report summarizing baseline assessments of medical death certificates and MCCoD trainings conducted in the four other provinces

Deliverable 1.6: Final report and presentation summarizing MCCoD training conducted, pre- and post-training assessments and recommendations for improving death reporting

 

Remuneration and payment schedule

The APW will submit deliverables in accordance with the payment timelines below:

Payment timelines:

• Countersigned contract - 15 May 2022 - 20%
• Deliverable 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 - 30 June 2022 - 20%
• Deliverables 1.4 - 30 August 2022 - 20%
• Deliverable 1.5 - 15 November 2022 - 20%
• Deliverables 1.6 - 10 January 2023 - 20%

 

Technical supervision

The contractual party will work under the supervision of:

• Responsible Officer: Priya Mannava, Strategic Health Information Technical Officer      
• Manager: Ms Anna Maalsen, WHO Officer-In-Charge

 

Specific requirements

Qualifications required (for the team lead at the company/institution):

• • Essential: University degree in medicine, health science, or related fields from a recognized university
• • Desirable: Postgraduate degree in public health, epidemiology or research

Experience required:

Essential:

• • Proven experience in teaching or conducting trainings on pathology, MCCoD and ICD coding, strengthening mortality surveillance or CRVS and training health workers in low- and middle-income countries.
• • Previous work with WHO, other international organizations and/or major institutions in the field of MCCoD, ICD coding, strengthening mortality surveillance or Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS).

Desirable:

• • Experience working with health authorities and public health decision-makers in PNG
• • Experience in conducting trainings on MCCoD and ICD coding in PNG
• • Experience in conducting assessments of or strengthening CRVS and mortality surveillance in PNG

Skills/technical skills and knowledge:

Essential:

• • Demonstrated expertise in developing training materials and conducting trainings on MCCoD and ICD coding
• • Knowledge of issues encountered with mortality surveillance, disease classification and death certification in low- and middle-income countries and preferably in PNG
• • Strong skills in project coordination as evidenced by ability in coordinating stakeholders and facilitating trainings and workshops
• • Strong data analysis and report writing skills

Desirable:

• • Successful engagements and projects with the NDoH or in PNG previously

Language requirements:

Fluency in English

 

Competencies

• • Communicating in a credible and effective way
• • Producing results
• • Ensuring the effective use of resources
• • Knowing and managing yourself

 

Place of assignment

Papua New Guinea

 

Medical clearance

The contractual partner is not expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.

 

Travel

The contractual partner is expected to travel within Papua New Guinea. All expenses related to domestic travels will be borne by the partner.

 

SUBMISSIONS

Qualified and interested specialists should submit the following documents to the Supply Officer through WP RO UNGM at < wproungm@who.int > and < mannavap@who.int > by 10 March 2022 (1700 GMT+10 PNG time)

• • Company Profile {for institutional applications}
• • Technical proposal, with the following accomplished forms as indicated in the attached Request for Proposal (RFP)
  • Annex 1: Acknowledgement Form
  • Annex 2: Confidentiality Undertaking
  • Annex 3: Proposal Completeness Form
  • Annex 6: Self-Declaration Form
• • Financial proposal

Please use Tender Notice No. WPRO/2022-02/PNG/168180 as subject to all submission. Only successful candidates will be contacted.

Last day of receiving queries for this tender is on 4 March 2022