Nepal-based Consultant to Support Health Product Feasibility Assessment

Nepal-based Consultant to Support Health Product Feasibility Assessment

Statement of Work (SOW)

Background

The Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus project is a six-year (2015-2021) Cooperative Agreement funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The strategic goal is to improve health outcomes and support the achievement of U.S. government commitments to Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Death, an AIDS-Free Generation, and FP2020 at the global, regional, and country levels. In Nepal, SHOPS Plus supports Nepal CRS Company (CRS), a leading social marketing organization, to build its organizational capacity to be a sustainable source of critical health products in the country.

Diarrhea is a major cause of childhood mortality and morbidity in Nepal (NDHS 2016). As there is very low use of the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended treatment of oral rehydration solution (ORS)along with zinc in the country, CRS built upon its popular Nava Jeevan ORS brand to test market the first ever ORS/zinc co-packaged brand through the private sector in Nepal. In 2019, CRS developed and launched the co-pack, with SHOPS Plus technical support, in one of the provinces with a strong distribution infrastructure and commercial sector. Initial market response indicated reasonable acceptance of the co-pack; however, sales were constrained by:

• High use of antibiotics and low knowledge of the WHO-recommended treatment among the providers. 
• Low availability of pharmacies in non-urban areas limiting co-pack use and thus high importance of including non-traditional outlets (e.g., grocery stores) in the distribution plan. 
• The Government of Nepal imposed a price ceiling, thereby affecting the viability of marketing a co-pack by private sector marketers including CRS. 

SHOPS Plus is assessing the commercial viability of marketing the co-pack in Kathmandu and exploring the feasibility of introducing ORS/zinc in other forms such as pre-mix suspension or tablet forms. If the assessment reveals that either of these forms is more commercially viable then SHOPS Plus will outline recommendations to support a new product launch for CRS to implement at a later stage. 

The project seeks a consultant, based in Nepal, to support this exercise in coordination with SHOPS Plus’s technical lead based in India. Specifically, the consultant will play an integral role in conducting in-depth interviews, data analysis, and putting together a slide deck summarizing assessment findings on the feasibility of marketing ORS/zinc. This is a short-term consultancy requiring up to 10 days of effort between September 1, 2021 and September 22, 2021.

Scope of Work

The consultant will provide all required services and materials needed to complete the work described below.

1.   Provide inputs to the interview tools and translate them to ensure local relevance and understanding (LOE: up to 2 days)

• Assist in developing and finalizing tools to conductin-depth interviews

2.   Conduct in-depth interviews(LOE: up to 6 days)

• Conduct an estimated 20 in-depth interviews, comprised of: 
  • 7-8 private pharmacies 
  • 2-3 pharma distributors
  • 5 private providers (pediatricians: 2-3; general physicians: 2-3)
  • 1-2 local pharmaceutical manufacturers
  • 1-2 policymakers
• Submit debrief note immediately after completion of interviews

3.   Provide inputs to slide deck of findings from in-depth interviews with recommendations for CRS regarding whether to continue marketing the co-pack or launch a new ORS/zinc product(LOE: up to 2 days)

Deliverables

• Inputs to and translation of tools for in-depth interviews
• Debrief note of interviews provided
• Inputs to slide deck of findings from feasibility assessment with in-depth interviews for new product launch

Qualifications

• Bachelors graduate with at least 7-8 years of experience in managing qualitative research studies involving in-depth interviews and focus group moderation, content analysis and interpretation
• Experience with new product development, child survival products preferred
• Excellent written and oral communication skills

The consultant will report to SHOPS Plus Nepal’s technical lead for this activity. To apply, please submit your CV and proposed daily rate to kylie_graff@abtassoc.com and margaret_chappell@abtassoc.com by August 23, 2021.