Procurement Notices

A. Project Description 

The Philippines is at a critical stage in its response to HIV and AIDS.  Over the past years, the country has been gravely challenged by a rapid and accelerated rate of new HIV infections.  Data from the Philippines HIV and AIDS Registry of the Department of Health (DOH) revealed that in April 2018, there were 924 new cases of HIV reported which is higher than the 628 cases recorded in April last year.  Of the 924 new cases, 179 were already showing clinical manifestations of advanced HIV infections or AIDS.  These new cases have brought the total number of HIV cases to 54,332 including 5,700 that have advanced to AIDS since the country began recording cases in January 1984.  

Unprotected sex remains the predominant mode of transmission, accounting for 899 cases.  Of these cases, 774 were men who have sex with men (MSM) while 11 were people who inject drugs (PWID) who shared contaminated needles.  The youngest case involved a 16-year old while the oldest was 69.  Geographically, one third of the new cases of infections or 282 cases came from the National Capital Region (NCR); CALABARZON (164); Central Luzon (117); Central Visayas (71); Davao Region (50); and Western VIsayas (44).

Condom use among MSM and TG during last anal sex across different age categories is low at 27%-46% (IHBSS 2015). But there is no clear condom strategy, or even a prevention strategy that would provide a range of options to key populations, e.g., PrEP. Key population targeted prevention interventions/service delivery continue to be mainly through the Global Fund grants, as it has been for the past decade, with no transition and sustainability plan in place.

A critical challenge among MSM and transgender people is the stigma and discrimination that they continue to experience in various health facilities and health care settings.  To help address this challenge, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with DOH and World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a manual/training package to reduce stigma and discrimination among MSM and transgenders in health care settings.  The training package, “The Time Has Come: Enhancing HIV, STI and other Sexual Health Services for Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) and Transgender People (TGs) in Asia and the Pacific: Training for Health Providers and Reduction of Stigma in Healthcare Settings” was designed with support and guidance from UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub and ISEAN-HIVOS Multi-Country Global Fund Programme as a regional tool covering the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Timor Leste.  The development of the training package was informed by the series of pilot trainings, national meetings, and regional and national training of trainors (TOT) involving the said countries.  The training package is focused on strengthening capacities of health care providers to advocate for and support MSM and transgender HIV-related programmes, deepen their understanding of the HIV prevention, care, and treatment response for MSM and transgender people in the country, and provide guidance towards effective use of these information to support policy development and rights-based HIV planning and programming.

Significant recommendations of the training package point to the sustainability of this initiative to support national responses on HIV among MSM and transgender people.  UNDP has advocated for its adoption and integration into the DOH’s national training curriculum of existing HIV and AIDS programmes and its roll-out to local government units especially the priority high burdened sites.  However, DOH recognizes the importance of developing a localized training package suited to the Philippine context.  Through the UBRAF-supported Joint UN Plan on AIDS, the design of the localized version of the training package was approved.   

B. Scope of Work

The design of the country-specific/localized training package requires the engagement of a national consultant/expert.  The consultant is expected to undertake the following:

• Conduct desk review of the training package and develop a draft localized version

• Present and discuss the draft localized version of the training package to a workshop with participants from MSM and transgender groups, health care providers trained, national government agencies, selected local government units, civil society organizations and groups working on MSM and TG issues

• Lead and facilitate the consultation process particularly the sharing of experiences and programs in addressing stigma and discrimination among MSM and TGs

• Assist in the coordination and preparation of the agenda of the consultation/workshop

• Finalize the country-specific/localized version of the training package

• Develop a plan of action that will define further steps towards integration and roll-out of the training package and PowerPoint presentation of the training package to be used in the roll-out

The consultant will work with the Programme Analyst (UNDP Philippines Democratic Governance Team) with guidance from the UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub (BRH) HIV, Health and Development (HHD) Team.   

C. Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The consultant is expected to submit an inception report and work plan, draft and final versions of the country-specific/localized version of the training package, plan of action to integrate and roll-out the training package, and powerpoint presentation to be used in the roll-out to the Programme Analyst on Governance, Human Rights, and LGBTI Philippines CO for review and to the Policy Advisor, HIV, Health and Development (HHD Team) UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub for final approval.  Below is the summary of expected outputs and deliverables:

D. Institutional Arrangement

The Consultant shall work in collaboration with UNDP Democratic Governance Team and UNDP HHD Team, Bangkok Regional Hub (BRH).  The consultant will be under the over-all management of the Policy Advisor, UNDP HHD/BRH, and direct supervision of the Programme Analyst on Governance, Human Rights and LGBTI, UNDP Philippines.  The UNDP DG Team shall provide administrative and logistical support to the Consultant particularly in convening meetings/round table discussions/focus group discussions and/or in visiting sites, if necessary.  The Policy Advisor, upon the recommendation of the Programme Analyst, will approve outputs submitted by the IC.

E. Duration of the Work

The expected duration of engagement is 80 working days, from 29 October 2018 to 20 February 2019. The Consultant will be requested to include weekends within the period of engagement as work days, if necessary, and will be required to travel, as the need arises.

F. Duty Station

This engagement is output-based.  The Consultant is not expected to report on a daily basis to UNDP.  S/he shall be notified within a reasonable period of time of pertinent meetings where his/her presence is necessary.  All consultation venues will be chosen according to accessibility, availability of appropriate facilities and peace and order.

G. Qualifications of the Successful Individual Expert

H. Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

• First Tranche - 20% Upon signing of contract and submission and acceptance of inception report and work plan.
• Second Tranche - 30% Upon satisfactory delivery and acceptance of the 1st draft of the training package and PowerPoint presentation for the consultation/workshop.
• Third Tranche -  30% Upon satisfactory delivery and acceptance of the 2nd draft of the training package incorporating comments/inputs from the consultation/workshop and draft plan of action.
• Forth Tranche - 20% Upon satisfactory delivery and acceptance of final versions of the training package and plan of action, and final powerpoint presentation.

I. Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

This section should indicate all the criteria which shall serve as basis for evaluating offers, which may be done in either of the following manner:

• Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and methodology will be weighted a max. of 70%, and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30%; or

• Lowest price method – where the award will be made to the qualified/responsive individual who offered the lowest price.

Option (a) is ideal for intellectual services where the methodology or approach to the work may differ from one individual to another and directly impacts the quality of the result.  Option (b) is ideal for standard type of services where there are not many possible ways of undertaking/performing the work.

If Option (a) is chosen, the key criteria for rating the qualification and methodology must be stated together with their equivalent percentage weight, so that Offerors can craft their offer appropriately.

J. Recommended Presentation of Offer

For purposes of generating Offers whose contents are uniformly presented and to facilitate their comparative analysis, it is best to recommend the preferred contents and presentation of the Offer to be submitted, as well as the format/sequencing of their presentation.  The following documents may be requested:

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;

2. Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;

3. Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a methodology, if applicable, on how they will approach and complete the assignment. A methodology is recommended for intellectual services, but may be omitted for support services [Note: this is optional for support services]; 

4. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided.  If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP. 

Kinldy submit your application to: procurement.ph@undp.org

“In view of the volume of applications UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified.”