Consultant for the Development of the Surveillance, Monitoring and Evaluation Plan for the New National Malaria Strategic Plan at Management Sciences For Health - MSH

Ref Id: R283

Background

• Malaria is endemic in Nigeria with 97% of the population at risk of infection sparing Sahel regions and the high mountainous area of the plateau. Nigeria contributes a quarter of the African malaria burden. It is a major public health problem in Nigeria; with up to 60% of all outpatients and 30% of admission are attributable to the disease. An estimated 110 million cases of malaria are said to occur annually with the greatest burden in children under five and pregnant women.
• Disease control, as well as other health and development programmes, has become result based. An effective Monitoring and Evaluation strategy is needed to measure adequacy and timeliness of inputs, progress, and tracking of achievement of set objectives. It provides sound evidence for decision making at programme and policy levels. Programmes/projects at all levels of implementation, whether they consist of multiple integrated projects or single interventions including public and private sectors, must conduct monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities.
• The National Strategic Plan for Malaria Control in Nigeria (NMSP), 2021-2025, has outlined massive scaling up of intervention mixes for impact using granular subnational data Owing to such massive deployment of effective interventions, it is expected that the epidemiologic profile of malaria in the country will change.

Rationale:

• In addition to the expected improvement that such optimal scale up of interventions will bring to bear on malaria epidemiologic profile and subsequent transition to pre-elimination, the huge cost implications involved, the limited available resources, coupled with the enormous pressure to meet set targets within limited-time spans puts a prerogative on sound monitoring and periodic evaluation. This is crucial for identifying gaps in programme implementation or areas where modifications in specific technical strategies may be needed.
• In view of the above, the National M&E plan needs to provide robust guide for monitoring and evaluation of the strategic plan and to encourage implementers to focus on intended programme results. It should also serve as a tool for early identification of gaps and potential implementation bottlenecks. This will provide a basis for adjustments and reprogramming for improved outcomes.
• In order to develop a robust M&E plan, we will require technical assistance from consultants with sound knowledge, expertise, and experience. Collective work responsibilities and coordination of all stakeholders and RBM partners is also required.

Tasks of Technical Oversight / Technical Assistant
The technical support/oversight should support the NMEP to:

• Conduct desk review: Review the Malaria Strategic Plan 2021 – 2025 and work plans of NMEP to ascertain the targets, goals, objectives, activities and indicators.
• Review all available reports/documents on NMEP Surveillance, M&E system including that of the SWOT analysis of the M&E system using the GF M&E system-strengthening tool, the National M&E framework for malaria control, Plan to Strengthen the National Malaria Reporting System and the National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP) etc.
• Develop an M&E matrix for the NMSP 2021 – 2025 Develop an M&E work plan: Based on the above matrix, develop a detailed M&E work plan specifying the activities, means of verification, defining responsibilities, the time frame, and budget to conduct consensus meeting.
• Build consensus on the M&E plan within the RBM partnership and elicit buy-ins/commitments of all implementers (partners, donors, other relevant programmes and stakeholders) to the M&E Plan as part of the principle of the three ‘ones’.

Methodology:

• Entry/Briefing meetings with NMEP M&E branch to provide regular updates  to M&E subcommittee members
• Review strategic planning order to propose an indicator matrix that can track the implementation of the strategic plan and evaluate its set targets
• Support and work closely with NMEP team-based teams, the sub committees and partners /stakeholders leading to consensus

Deliverables:

• Finalized National Malaria Programme Surveillance, M&E Plan
• A costed Annual Operational Plan for M&E
• A documented report of the process

Reporting arrangements:

• In carrying out the assignment, the consultant is expected to consult with and work closely with the M&E branch through the Head/ SME branch and the other key Branches of NMEP with strong reference from the NMSP 2021-2025.
• The consultant shall operate under the general supervision of the National Coordinator, National Malaria Elimination Programme through the Head, M&E branch.

Timeframe:

• The maximum number of days worked in this period will be 30 working days.

Qualification

• A Postgraduate degree in Public Health.