Call for Application for a Consultant to Carry Out an Action Research on Budgeting for PHC in Sokoto State

Call for Application for a Consultant to Carry Out an Action Research on Budgeting for PHC in Sokoto State

INTRODUCTION

Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) is a Knowledge Institution, being a non-governmental, non-profit and non-partisan organisation registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission as a Charity. It was established to introduce professionalism in civil society work and to use social entrepreneurship to provide cutting edge services to enhance and deepen economic, social and political change. It is a Company Limited by Guarantee under Nigerian law.

Centre for Social Justice, in implementing the State2State Project of the USAID, is carrying out an advocacy oriented research with which to engage relevant stakeholders on the need to improve funding and value for money in Primary Health Care (PHC) in Sokoto state; improve PHC service delivery in Sokoto state, among other expected results. Interested individuals with requisite qualifications are hereby to send in their applications for the role of a Consultant to work on the aforestated subject matter.

BACKGROUND

Primary Health Care (PHC) is the first level of contact for citizens and the community with the national healthcare system; its focuses on the primary health problems in the community, providing preventive, curative, rehabilitative and promotional health services. In Nigeria, it is funded from the government budget and through other funding and grants from international and other development partners.

Effective PHC systems ought to be inclusive, equitable, efficient and cost-effective in order to enhance people’s physical and mental health, as well as social well-being. The plan, policy and budget continuum ensures that plans and policies are implemented through the annual budget. Plans and policies provide the legal and policy framework for sectoral governance and service delivery while budgets activate plans and policies through providing resources for their implementation. The disconnect between plans, policies and budgeting has been largely responsible for poor primary health care (PHC) indicators in most states of the Federation.

The sectoral Medium Term Sector Strategies (MTSS) provides the sectoral priorities for allocation of budgetary resources for the incoming year. The health MTSS informs the Health sector component of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). The MTEF, among other things, provides the projections for the annual budget as it relates all sectors, including health. As such, the importance of stakeholders’ engagement at this stage of budgeting for sufficient provision for Primary Health Care funding cannot be overemphasized.   

Furthermore, the current global economic environment provides a new dimension. Budgeting for PHC in a time of constrained fiscal resources poses a major challenge which requires innovation and all hands-on deck approach to meet policy goals and objectives. With shrinking public resources, states across the Federation need to make critical choices on where available resources could be deployed for optimum results. It is within this context that the activity is designed as one of the activities with which to carry out structural and purposive engagement of the PHC system in Sokoto State as well as information dissemination and advocacy for reforms.

This provides the background upon which Centre for Social Justice wishes to carry out an action research to review budgetary provisions for Primary Health Care in Sokoto State with a view to identify gaps, challenges and emerging fit and good practices worthy of replication in budgeting and funding for Primary Health Care (PHC) in the State. The output of this research would serve as an advocacy tool for the engagement of relevant stakeholders within the fiscal governance space in Sokoto State to improve budgeting and funding for PHC.

TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR)

The Consultant is to carry out a three year review of the provisions for Primary Health Care in the Sokoto State budget, with particular reference to the following local government areas: Benji, Sokoto North, Sokoto South, Gwadabawa, Yabo, Tambauwal and Wurno. S/he is to review the budgets with the following objectives:

• Reveal gaps, deficiencies, challenges, value for money issues in the budgeting process (through a collaboration of demand and supply side actors),
• Analyse the policies and legal standards governing primary healthcare as well as budgetary and non-budgetary funding sources for primary healthcare;
• Link analyses with relevant Public Finance Management (PFM) laws and policies operational in Nigeria and in Sokoto state,
• Make recommendations on fit and good practices of budgeting for primary healthcare, especially to meet the minimum core obligations of the state[1];
• Proffer general and specific recommendations following the analyses.
• Present the analyses in a report with the aid of data visualization where necessary.

Key Deliverables

• Introduction (3-4 pages): Give an overview of what the research aims to achieve. The scope of the research is from 2019-2021.
• Policies and Legal Standards on PHC (at least 6 pages): Review the minimum core obligation of a state on the right to health which includes budgeting for PHC. Review international conventions on the right to health and link same to budgeting to PHC. Review the state policies and laws (or domestication of national frameworks and programmes) that form the foundation for budgeting for PHC in the state. If the state has a Fiscal Responsibility Law and prepares a Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF); is making provision for PHC on the agenda of the MTEF? If the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) prepare Medium Term Sector Strategies (MTSS); is budgeting for PHC on the agenda.
• Budget Funding (2019-2021, at least 12 pages): Review specific provisions in the state and focal LGA budgets and financing of PHC from other sources including grants, loans, etc. which are geared towards adequate funding for PHC in the light of improving healthcare in the state. Go through the budgets and find any other allocations that are of relevance to the subject matter of the research – capacity building, awareness creation, prevention, etc. 

Issues flagged in the law and policy section should inter alia guide the budget review. Provide information on how much was appropriated versus the amount released, cash backed and utilized. Review whether the expenditure was value for money. Review funding for M&E, data collection and analysis needed for planning. What are the overall and specific funding gaps? Identify/project using empirical evidence, international standards and best practices, the optimum resources needed to respect, protect and fulfill all citizens rights towards accessing basic healthcare. Assess the budget’s compliance to Abuja Declaration on Health. Are there any costed action plans to achieve universal health coverage in the state? Are there any possible/feasible sources of new finances to improve funding for Primary Health Care in the state? Are there any possible sources of savings to engender greater value for money? Identify fit and good practices worthy of replication in the state.  

• Conclusion (Not more than 3 pages): The summary of the findings from the research.
• Recommendations (Not more than 3 pages): Key issues/actions that need to be taken to improve funding for PHC in the state.
• Addendum:
• There should be an Executive Summary (of not more than 4 pages) – summarize the research and paste the recommendations here.
• There should be Table of Contents, Charts, List of Abbreviations, etc.

QUALIFICATIONS

The successful candidate would possess:

• A BSc Degree in Economics, Accountancy/Accounting, Business Administration or other related Social Sciences courses.
• An MSc Degree would be an advantage.
• At Least seven (7) years of cognate experience as a Consultant/Analyst in the field of Public Finance Management/Fiscal Governance (experience within the nongovernment space is preferred).
• Relevant experience working in the Health sector budgeting process would be an advantage.
• Professional Certification in Public Finance Management (e.g. PFM course by International Monetary Fund).
• Knowledge of budget analysis.
• Track record of similar consultancies within the PFM space.

Skills

• Knowledge of budget analyses.
• Knowledge of data analysis tools such as Microsoft Excel, Visme.co, Canva.com or other similar platforms.
• Strong analytical and report writing skills.
• Ability to meet stipulated deadline and excellent time management skills.
• Self-motivated to perform well.
• Deep understanding of how development policies at the subnational level work.

Interested applicants should send in their CVs to censojprocurement@gmail.com on or before 3^rd February 2022 (before 5pm). Only shortlisted candidates would be contacted.