Implementing capacity building activities to strengthen infectious disease surveillance and laboratory and response to disease outbreaks and public health emergencies in the Central-coastal region of Viet Nam

Please note that the closing date is 31 October, 2024

Purpose of the Consultancy
The APW holder (a local agency/ organization/ institution) is expected to implement capacity building activities to strengthen infectious disease surveillance and laboratory system and response to disease outbreaks and public health emergencies in the Central-coastal region of Viet Nam. The APW holder will be working in a close collaboration with the Health Security and Emergency Team of the WHO Viet Nam Country Office.

Background
Infectious diseases including emerging, re-emerging infectious diseases and vaccine preventable diseases (VPD) remain major public health threats to many countries around the world including Viet Nam. To enable early detection, readiness and response to disease outbreaks and emergencies, WHO has been advocating for and supporting Member States to strengthen multisource surveillance, risk assessment and rapid response capacities. Of the six domains included in the WHO’s Asia-Pacific Health Security Action Framework (APHSAF)1 that was officially released in early 2024, “Assess and Response” component with the aim to strengthen surveillance systems to enable early warning and response to potential public health emergencies. In this domain, i) multisource surveillance and risk assessment, ii) detect, report and monitor new and unusual events; and iii) rapid response to limit impact and spread are the three sub-domains which WHO would prioritize its technical support to Government partners.
For the multisource surveillance strengthening, among ongoing efforts to support further strengthening indicator-based surveillance, sentinel surveillance, laboratory-based surveillance, etc., focus will be given to enhancing capacity to conduct event-based surveillance (EBS) following the existing national guideline on EBS and with a pilot application of the Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS) tool, an initiative led by WHO. Besides, capacity of rapid response teams (RRT) at subnational level should be refreshed and updated. To this extent, continued application of Go.Data tool by RRTs in outbreak investigation and contact tracing for ongoing VPD outbreaks including mpox should cases be detected. All these capacity building would contribute toward solidifying the function of public health emergency operation center (PHEOC) from regional level.
As an important pillar of overall public health architecture, National public health laboratory systems play a crucial role in detecting, confirming, and monitoring infectious disease and is essential for timely and effective outbreak response. Information from laboratories provide valuable data that inform health system and policymakers, aiding in the development of health policies and strategies. WHO’s project document with MoH Viet Nam has prioritized strengthening National laboratory system under strategic priority 3 which covers also all the above-mentioned aspects for Disease surveillance system strengthening. Biosafety & biosecurity, quality management system, networking, referral testing, policy/guidance development, technological advancements, capacity enhancements and emergency response/surge capacity are the major pillars of a public health laboratory system. Identifying major gaps and strategizing targeted interventions can improve each of the pillars to strengthen overall national laboratory system.
In Viet Nam, the Central-costal region continues to be a hotspot for re-emerging infectious diseases such as avian influenza, rabies, dengue; vaccine preventable diseases including diphtheria, measles, etc. and foodborne outbreaks over the past years. It is important for the region to be up-to-date with the capacity for preparedness, readiness and response to disease outbreaks and public health emergencies to protect lives and health security.
The WHO Country Office in Viet Nam is calling for applications from a local institution/ agency/ organization to implement a series of activities to strength the overall capacity of surveillance, early detection, laboratory system performance and rapid response in the Central-coastal region of Viet Nam.

Planned timelines (subject to confirmation)
Start date: 15 November 2024
End date: 31 March 2025

Communications during the RFP Period
A prospective bidder requiring any clarification on technical, contractual or commercial matters may notify WHO via email at the following address:
Email for submissions of all queries: wproungm@who.int ; wpvnmhe@who.int
(use subject: Bid Ref. WPRO/2024-10/VNM-HSE/.41/2502050)

Submission of Proposals
The bidder shall submit the complete proposal to WHO no later than 31/10/2024 at 17:00 hours Hanoi time (“the Closing Date for Submission of Proposals”), by E-mail at the following address: wproungm@who.int ; wpvnmhe@who.int

For more detailed information, please refer to the attached Terms of Reference and Bid Reference.