Sustainable Model of Eye Health Financing (SMEHF) at Fred Hollows Foundation

The purpose of the consultancy is to:

• Conduct a needs assessment of a functional eye unit at (Level 4 and 5) eye clinic at level 3 and eye health services at level 2 in the counties of Makueni, Meru and Kisumu (In total 5 facilities will be assessed in 3 counties) and form basis for costing as per the Standards of Ophthalmic Services for Kenya).
• Establish the cost of a functional eye unit at (Level 4 and 5), eye clinic at level 3 and eye health services at level 2 as per the Standards for Ophthalmic services of the Ministry of Health, Kenya.
• The consultancy entails utilizing the available data on eye health facilities, reports on eye care situation, and ophthalmic services documents. The consultant will work closely with County Health Management Teams in Meru, Makueni and Kisumu to assess current needs of five eye health facilities and allocate costs associated with establishing a functional eye unit at levels 4 & 5 as well as an eye clinic at level 3 and eye health services at level 2 as per the Standards of Ophthalmic Care in Kenya. The aim is to establish current state of existing facilities and total cost of a functioning eye unit for effective planning and establishment of such facilities.

Scope of the Consultancy and Key Questions

Scope of the assignment:

The consultant is required to perform the following functions at minimum:

• Use county specific Eye Care Situation Analysis Tool (ECSAT) reports and facility assessment findings to establish the current state of eye care facilities in two counties
• Utilize the Standards for Ophthalmic Services document of the Ministry of Health, Kenya (copy to be provided) and other relevant official reference documents of the Ministry of Health to identify and cost ingredients associated with establishing an eye unit or eye clinic at various levels.
• Collaborate with the three counties to establish cost of a functional eye unit.
• Identify costs associated with improvement of existing eye care units or clinics in surveyed counties.
• Develop a report indicating the cost associated with establishing and operating a functional eye unit or eye clinic.

Key guiding questions:

• What is the current situation of eye care facilities in the counties of Meru, Makueni and Kisumu)?
• What is the cost of establishing a functional eye unit at levels (2,3,4 and 5) as per the guidance provided in the Standards for Ophthalmic Services of the Ministry of Health, Kenya?

Specific questions:

To address the two primary guiding questions, in consultation with FHF team, the consultant will formulate additional targeted questions to effectively gather the necessary information.

Approach

Situational Analysis and costing

• The consultant is expected to design an appropriate methodology for this assignment. In addition, the consultant is expected to;
• Review relevant literature and documents including (grey literature, reports and peer review literature) on situational analysis of standards of ophthalmic care and identify any gaps in relation to the Kenyan Standards of Ophthalmic Care.
• Conduct interviews with relevant personnel at the selected three counties on costs of establishing a functional eye unit.
• Conduct a survey at five eye care facilities in the three counties to gather information about the current state of existing eye care facilities and associated costs.

Consultative Workshops

• Validation workshop: Conduct an analysis of data and share initial findings for validation with identified county stakeholders and Fred Hollows Foundation team and incorporate feedback before completing final report.

Prepare final report

• Based on feedback from consultative sessions, consolidate a report with a summary of;
• current state of eye unit or eye clinics in the selected three counties.
• cost of establishing an eye unit as per Kenyan Standard of Ophthalmic care at the various levels (2,3,4,5) of care.

The consultant will be required to observe the quality and ethical standards as set out in The Foundation’s Evaluation Policy and Handbook.

Deliverables

• Completed inception report with timelines and budget, approved by FHF
• Completed data collection tools, approved by FHF
• Completed interviews and data collection with relevant stakeholders
• Completed planned validation workshops with relevant stakeholders as agreed with selected counties and The Foundation.
• Submit draft and final report of the consultancy assignment
• A summary PowerPoint slides deck of the key findings

Essential requirements

• Degree or master’s in economics, Health Economics/Financing, public health, international development or related fields
• Experience conducting costing studies
• Considerable experience in participatory approaches to research, gathering data and synthesizing the perspectives of various stakeholders
• Experience in strategic planning processes, public health and health services management
• Demonstrated understanding of eye health programming and emerging global public eye health issues
• Familiarity with various global, regional and local policies and instruments on provision of eye care services
• Demonstrated ability to lead consultative stakeholder engagements and generate quality reports
• Understanding of Kenyan health system and eye care context
• Experience of evaluation in private and public health sectors; and
• Understanding of eye health service delivery in Kenya