Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has issued a request for proposals targeted country assistance for the following:
- Embedded operational support to the Lao PDR National Immunization Program (NIP)
- Communication and demand-generation support to Lao PDR NIP for the 2nd year of life
The submission date is May 9, 2024 and bidders should indicate their intent to participate by April 29, 2024. Full details can be found in the RFP and the scope of work can be found below.
Component 1
Embedded Support
Support to organize coordination and monitoring meetings with other partners as needed by government counterparts:
- Support NIP and NMCH to prepare programmatic reporting to Gavi on a quarterly basis, including support for the joint appraisal (JA) process as needed
- Provide on-the-job operational support to the NIP to scale and transition support to priority provinces:
- To plan and implement routine EPI activities integrated with other services such as maternal child health, nutrition, and COVID-19 vaccination through a well-child approach
- To increase utilization of fixed services to strengthen and sustain vaccination
- Provide on-the-job operational support to the NIP and NMCH and provinces to carry out a costed and integrated operational planning including accurate microplanning, budgeting, monitoring, and tracking of implementation at the national and subnational levels, aligned with other health sector or partner initiatives (HANSAII, JSI, UNICEF, WHO, DFAT) to identify and reach high-risk groups through effective use of data visualization and dashboards to facilitate data-driven decision-making for continuous improvement
- Support NIP and NMCH to identify domestic resources (including through prioritization and evidence-based resource allocation) for NIP (e.g., operational costs, vaccine costs, and for health workers) to link to the National Immunization Strategy (NIS) through resource mapping to support allocation, tracking, and use of funds down to the operational level, with emphasis on subnational level, to ensure equity in resource allocation and continued reach of un-immunization and under-immunized children
- Provide support to any emerging needs (e.g., outbreaks, other activities requested by NIP) as defined by the NIP and NMCH
Supply Chain
- Support NIP and NMCH on piloting integrated distribution of vaccines with other commodities, as feasible and as per government guidance, to achieve cost and time efficiencies, improve reliability of distribution and distribution systems, and ensure improved and ongoing availability in Gavi transition context, in agreed four provinces testing the model of integration of distribution at the provincial level down to the PHC level
- Operational support to NIP and NMCH, in coordination and collaboration with WHO and UNICEF, on strengthening data recording, reporting, visibility, and reviews for action at national and subnational levels, particular coordination between EPI, FDU, and Medical Products Supply Center for improved stock management, reduced stock outs and wastage towards sustainability of vaccines supply at all levels, improvement, and fully transition of use of stock dashboard as needed by the government
- Support NIP and NMCH to implement recommendations of ongoing iSCM diagnostic activities by senior experts, including improved forecasting, distribution optimization, stock monitoring and reporting, and integrated distribution in accordance with government guidance or policy among others
Component 2
- Support NIP to develop through human-centered design (HCD) and implement approaches to improve routine vaccination in the second year of life; including support for communication, community engagement, and demand-generation activities, improved defaulter tracking and use of data to reduce drop-out rates at the national and subnational level in selected provinces and for key population segments, including urban poor, ethnic minorities, and rural or remote communities, etc., and including development of accountability principles between PHC and communities
- Support NIP to tailor, implement, and monitor strategies to reach key populations including urban populations, ethnic minorities, and rural or remote populations, including development of accountability principles between PHC and communities
