LHSS Afghanistan Consultancy – Procurement Specialist for Pharmaceutical Products

Short Term Consultancy for Developing a Comprehensive Business and Sustainability Roadmap for Pooled Procurement of Imported Health Commodities, Medicines and Other Medical Supplies for a Private Provider Network in Afghanistan – Procurement Specialist

Background 

The USAID-funded Local Health System Sustainability Project (LHSS) Activity in Afghanistan is working with local stakeholders to strategically expand the scale, quality, availability, and affordability of priority health products and services through the private sector in the urban and peri-urban areas. The Activity strengths private provider capacity and deploys promising provider aggregation models for the private health sector to offer priority health provisions at greater scale, more affordably, and with improved quality. The interconnected network of provider organizations can sustainably scale up or adopt new, improved business models and practices. 

LHSS implements the nascent and first-of-its-kind network of private health providers grouped together under an umbrella structure, aimed at effectively expanding the scale of private practice and significantly contributing to national public health objectives. The market-based two-tier network is led by an aggregator, Afghan Social Marketing Organization (ASMO), with technical assistance from Greenstar Social Marketing, Pakistan. It offers comprehensive promotive, preventive, primary healthcare services including referrals to tertiary care and ancillary support and welfare services, through a network of qualified and specially trained cadres of private health and support services providers. ASMO integrates the standalone networks and offers cross-cutting support services including provider selection and onboarding, training and quality assurance, network branding, promotion and social behavior change for demand generation, patient referral and welfare using demand-side financing strategies to cater to low income and vulnerable patients with special emphasis on women.

Rationale for Consultancy

Limited access to critical health commodities, medicines and other medical supplies and equipment, with frequent stock-outs across public and private facilities, continue to nag Afghanistan’s health system given the weak supply chain and heavy reliance on imports. Pooled procurement, a highly effective driver of affordable access to quality commodities, is a formal arrangement where financial and other resources are combined to task a single entity for procuring health commodities, medicines, other medical supplies and equipment on behalf of a group of purchasing authorities. It is a category of supply chain models that enables collaboration among buyers that can offer cost efficiency and sustainability through economies of scale. 

Scope of Work for Consultancy

LHSS seeks to hire a Procurement Specialist for pharmaceutical products as a consultant. The selected consultant will help ASMO to assume responsibilities of pooled procurement of essential commodities, medicines and other supplies, on behalf of the members of the network. The selected consultant in collaboration with two other consultants will be expected to work as a team and prepare a business and sustainability roadmap. The roadmap will guide implementation of a sustainable pooled procurement including a standard operating procedure (SOP) for planning, budgeting, scoping, selecting, ordering, receiving, quality testing, and obtaining local government clearances for procuring commodities from the international manufacturers in consultation with LHSS, ASMO’s procurement and senior management team, and the secretariat of the network. The consultant will also work closely with relevant government officials in customs, the ministries of public health, other relevant government departments, and reputed clearing and forwarding agents in Kabul engaged in international procurement and logistics. Based on the consultant’s recommendation, once agreed upon by the secretariat of the private provider network, ASMO will follow the approved SOP and business and sustainability roadmap to initiate regional or global procurement process and demonstrate the benefits. 

Objectives

The Procurement Specialist together with 2 other consultants will work with the network manager (ASMO/Greenstar) and the secretariat to undertake the following objectives 

• Assess and plan technical and financial feasibility of procuring imported health commodities, medicines, other medical supplies and equipment, procured by the network members regularly, for achieving improved procurement efficiency in terms of quality, lead time, and cost efficiency.
• Develop a framework and standard operating procedure using global best practices, considering local regulations, and the minimum quality standards required by Afghanistan Food and Drug Authority.
• Develop a 2-3-year business and sustainability roadmap to make the proposed pooled procurement initiative successfully contribute to adequate and consistent supply and reduced stock out to meet the market demand efficiently and sustainably.

Tasks and Outputs

The selected consultant will conduct the following tasks as appropriate, comply with LOE specified, and contribute to timely submission of the deliverables. 

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Tasks

Activities

Deliverables

Submission date

1.Undertake preparatory work and develop work plan

Estimated LOE: 10 person days

• Hold entrance meetings with the LHSS, ASMO, Greenstar and the secretariat to understand and clarify –
• Consultancy scope, deliverables, timelines and role and responsibilities of key stakeholders engaged in the process
• Existing demand for and process of procurement of the network, the in country regulatory requirements, procurement requirements over next 2-3 years and ASMO’s capacity-gaps if any to manage the initiative.
• Inception report submitted with a complete work plan, deliverables and time plan

Oct 15, 2024

2.Assess current and future demand for items of interest and potential for improved efficiency through pooled procurement

Estimated LOE: 40 person days

• Estimate existing and future demand, reordering points (reorder quantity and time point) and procurement efficiency by reviewing past records quality specifications, procurement quantity and frequency, procurement cost, procurement lead time (time of order to delivery) and shelf life at delivery
• Assess regulatory and logistical requirements and time estimates for import authorization, quality testing, customs clearance, import duties applicable for commercial and nonprofit organizations.
• List potential regional and global suppliers and explore interest and obtain dummy quotes for MOQ, delivery time, and costs (CIF and FOB).
• Undertake a comparative analysis of procurement efficiency and cost benefit of existing standalone vs pooled procurement strategies.
• Hold meetings with the LHSS, ASMO, Greenstar and the secretariat and ensure buy in.
• Interim report of existing and future demand for interest items
• Preliminary technical feasibility report with potential cost benefit analysis

Oct 30, 2024

Jan 15, 2025

3.Develop the framework and SOP for pooled procurement 

Estimated LOE: 40 person days

• Undertake a desk review of global best practices of pooled procurement and list key lessons relevant and applicable to the context of Afghanistan
• Conduct additional desk review and KIIs, as appropriate, to assess regulatory and logistical requirements and reordering points for all products
• Develop framework and SOP for pooled procurement of commodities, medicines and supplies outlining the following: –
• Preamble outlining goal and objectives of the initiative
• Procurement policies and administration w.r.t roles, responsibilities, composition of procurement committee, procurement methods, management and coordination, post procurement requirements
• Procurement procedures in terms of –
• Overall process
• Risk assessment and management
• Order requested, scrutiny and approval of the procurement committee and the secretariat, and import authorization
• RFQ announcement and bid submission, bid opening and analysis, selection of winner, price and terms negotiation, supplier finalization and issuing of PO
• Principles of value for money, assurance in terms of on quality, quantity, price, time and place, and finally code of ethics for procurement team and suppliers
• Guidelines for actual initiation of procurement, post procurement formalities and closure of procurement cycle
• Templates for relevant forms and templates for initiating, processing and approving the requirements
• Hold meetings with LHSS, ASMO, Greenstar, and the secretariat to finalize and ensure buy in.
• Draft SOP
• SOP final with comments and clarifications addressed

Dec 30, 2024

Jan 15, 2025

4.Assess staff requirements, and need-gaps, develop training package and train the team 

Estimated LOE: 15 person days

• Assess IT, software, data, HR and client management capacities required to manage the initiative
• Ascertain existing capacity of ASMO and provide recommendations for addressing the gaps and strengthening overall capacity.
• Conduct training of ASMO procurement and senior management staff
• Interim report consisting of the following; –
• Team structure
• Capacity strengthening needs
• Investment required
• Training and orientation package

Jan 7, 2025

Jan 15, 2025

5.Prepare financial feasibility business and sustainability roadmap for the initiative

Estimated LOE: 5 person days

• Develop a 2-3-year business and sustainability roadmap for the initiative
• Hold meetings with the LHSS, ASMO, Greenstar, the secretariat and ensure buy in.
• Preliminary business and sustainability roadmap, addressing financial and technical activities submitted

Jan 31, 20256.Demonstrate effectiveness of proposed roadmap 

Estimated LOE: 20 person days

• Pilot the initiative with 3-5 potential items by implementing the recommended roadmap while mentoring ASMO team
• Monthly progress Dashboards
• Consolidated dashboard with key lessons, challenges, and corrective actions

Jan – Apr’25

May 15, 2025

7. Complete exit formalities

Estimated 

LOE: 5 person days

• Finetune preliminary technical and financial tasks and SOPs within the roadmap with lessons learned from the pilot exercise.
• Hold exit meetings with the LHSS Afghanistan, ASMO and Greenstar and the network secretariat.
• Comprehensive techno-financial business and sustainability roadmap report (Draft)
• Final draft with comments and clarifications addressed

June 15, 2025

June 30, 2025

Total estimated LOE: 135 person days 

Oct 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025

Qualifications

Specific role for the Procurement Specialist – Pharmaceutical Products (LOE: 135 days) is as follows:

Roles and Responsibilities

• Act as the technical lead for the exercise in coordination with the other two consultants.
• Design and manage the technical feasibility assessment covering demand and reorder estimation and forecast for list priority commodities, medicines and other medical supplies, and cost benefit analysis of standalone and pooled procurement.
• Design and finalize the framework and standard operating procedure for pooled procurement business and sustainability roadmap using global best practices, considering local regulations, and the minimum quality standards required by the Afghanistan Food and Drug Authority and regulatory and logistical requirements and time estimates for import authorization, quality testing, customs clearance, import duties applicable for commercial and nonprofit organizations.
• Co-identify staff and capacity-strengthening requirements, develop training package and train ASMO team.
• Demonstrate effectiveness of proposed pooled procurement business and sustainability roadmap by piloting the initiative with 3-5 potential items while mentoring ASMO team.
• Attend meetings and collaborate with ASMO, Greenstar, the network secretariat, and other relevant stakeholders in undertaking the exercise, develop and submit technical feasibility plan.

Qualifications 

• A master’s degree in pharmacy, or local equivalent; PhD preferred
• Demonstrated expertise and at least 7 years’ experience of designing and implementing procurement through importation of health commodities, medicines and other medical supplies including global/regional procurement and logistics, ordering and reordering of large quantities, quality testing, storage and warehouse management, supplier management, customs and excise duty handling for imported items.
• Familiar with pooled procurement of pharmaceutical items and experienced.
• Has expertise and experience of developing training materials and providing training and mentoring to grassroots supply chain staff.
• Experience of working with social marketing and social franchising programs is preferred.

Other skills and expertise

• Excellent writing and oral English communication skills
• High familiarity with Afghanistan and its fragile context
• Ability to understand Dari and/or Pashtu languages – preferable
• Willing to travel to Afghanistan and undertake field visits to relevant provinces and districts, as necessary.

Travel

2-3 trips for 10 workdays each. The selected consultants will be expected to arrange travel, boarding and lodging and claim reimbursements following USG travel guidelines. LHSS will provide all necessary support to facilitate the process. 

Reporting

The consultant will be overseen by LHSS for the duration of their work. Each deliverable will be provided with a due date and any changes to these dates will be provided in writing to the selected consultant. 

Qualified and experienced candidates are encouraged to apply for appropriate positions, submitting CV highlighting relevant experience for the role with a brief 2-3-page cover letter with information on the most pertinent experiences, which will allow for a successful completion of the outlined statement of work. 

For consideration, please submit the above to Anastasia Letaw (Anastasia.Letaw@abtglobal) by September 10, 2024, 12:00 PM US EST

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