Post Title:
International Consultant on Improvement of Cold Chain Storage
and Maintenance Capacities in Tajikistan as a Technical Assistance
to the Ministry of Health/ Republican Centre for
Immunoprophylaxis of the Republic of Tajikistan
Level of consultancy:
International Professional (P3) level
Duration of contract:
April-July 2013 (60 w/d)
Office location:
Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Closing date:
15 March 2013
BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE:
The National Immunisation Programme for 2011-2015 is one of the main preventive healthcare services
in Tajikistan. The Republican Centre for Immunoprophylaxis (RCIP) and the Department of MCH
services are the main agencies for managing immunisation services. Responsibilities of RCIP include
programme planning and monitoring, forecast, procurement and management of vaccine supply and other
EPI related items, including cold chain items and its maintenance. The RCIP is also responsible for
reporting and registration, EPI data collection and analysis, technical guidance/assistance and vaccinepreventable disease surveillance. The RCIP supervises six regional centres located in Dushanbe, Khujand,
Kurgan-Tyube, Kulob, Khorog and Rasht.
UNICEF Tajikistan regularly supports the Ministry of Health in strengthening the national cold chain and
logistic system that serves as the backbone of the routine immunization programme. In past UNICEFGovernment of Tajikistan Country Programme cycles, UNICEF provided regular technical assistance to
the MoH/RCIP to support the strengthening of its cold chain infrastructure. In 2012 the technical support
was provided at the request of the MoH/RCIP to re-assess the capacity of the cold chain system in the
country as part of cold chain infrastructure preparedness for major immunisation-related events, such as
mass vaccination campaigns and introduction of new vaccines. Additionally, the Review of the National
Immunisation Programme (EPI Review) was conducted in November 2012 and the WHO Effective
Vaccine Management (EVM) assessment was conducted in September 2012.
Recommendations outlined in the Cold Chain Infrastructure Assessment, the EVM exercise and in the
EPI Review led to the procurement of four additional cold rooms and 170 ice-lined refrigerators (ILRs) to
ensure that Tajikistan’s cold chain equipment capacity is up to date with proposed changes in the national
immunization schedule which envisages introduction of new vaccines in 2014. Also, to improve the cold
chain maintenance at the regional and sub-regional levels, the MoH plans to introduce Fridge-Tags to
register/monitor the temperature inside the refrigerator on a 30-day basis. Thus, there is a need to build
the capacity of local and provincial cold chain managers to use fridge tags (newly introduced in
Tajikistan) to ensure safe vaccine handling. The Ministry of Health requires technical assistance as local
capacity is not available to perform such assignment.
OBJECTIVE:
The proposed international consultancy aims to provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Health /
Republican Center for Immunoprophylaxis in installation of four cold rooms at central and regional
levels, installation of the electronic data logger at the RCIP as well training of health professionals on
usage of newly procured Fridge-tags to facilitate smooth implementation of the National Immunisation
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Programme. It will also provide recommendations for improvement to ensure safe vaccine storage during
the introduction of new vaccines and implementation of mass immunisation campaigns.
WORK ASSIGNMENT AND DELIVERABLES:
Activity #1- Installation of four cold rooms at national and regional level

Assessment of sites for installation among those proposed by the RCIP;

Based on the assessment, to develop a cold room installation plan in 3 locations (2 cold rooms at
national level, 1 cold room in GBAO and 1 cold room –Rasht valley);

Install four cold rooms: two in Dushanbe, one in GBAO and Rasht each.

Provide training for cold room keepers and other relevant staff on procedures for use and
maintenance of installed cold rooms based on short manual/guidelines, including emergency
operation plan.
Deliverables as per activity #1:
-
Four cold rooms are installed in planned locations, they are functioning and local staff is able to
use and maintain an appropriate level of cold room functioning.
-
Short operational and maintenance guidelines of cold room management developed;
-
Training materials, including visuals (PPT);
-
Training sessions for staff provided.
Activity # 2- Installation of the electronic temperature data-logger at the cold store of the RCIP.

Install the data logger to monitor the central cold store temperature;

Provide training for central cold room keeper and other relevant staff on procedures for use and
maintenance of the temperature data logger based on short manual/guideline.
Deliverables as per activity #2:
-
A set of temperature data logger equipment is installed at the central vaccine cold room in
Dushanbe;
-
Short guideline on use of the temperature data logger is developed (this version will be printed as
a manual at later stage)
-
Training materials, including visuals (PPT);
-
Training session for staff provided.
Activity #3 - Training of health staff on usage of Fridge-Tags.

Develop short training guidelines;

Provide training for regional and sub-regional cold room keepers and other relevant staff on
procedures for use and maintenance of the Fridge-Tags based on short manual/guidelines.

Train a pool of qualified trainers to provide cascade training on the use of Fridge-Tags.
Deliverables as per activity #3:
-
Short guidelines are developed (this version will be printed as a manual at later stage)
-
Training materials, including visuals (PPT);
-
Training sessions for staff provided.
Additional Deliverables:

Revised national cold chain investment plan, including replacement plan for cold chain equipment
for 2014-2016 (with the consideration of newly supplied ILRs);
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
Monthly report, including trip reports upon completion of field trips;

Final report with recommendations.
The assignment will be undertaken in close collaboration with responsible MoH/RCIP officials at all
levels. The assignment seeks to provide the following deliverables:
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERTISE:

University degree in engineering or logistics management or related field with focus on EPI
and/or Cold Chain Management;

Five or more years of working experience in the field of vaccine and cold chain management,
with international/UN organization. Experience in CEE/CIS countries is preferable.

Technical knowledge and experience in installation of cold and freezer rooms is required;

Technical knowledge and experience in cold chain management (assessment of vaccine stores
management as per WHO guidelines, vaccine storage equipment and their characteristics for
vaccine storage.

Experience in undertaking/ analyzing inventories of cold chain equipment and suggesting long
term plans.

Strong facilitation skills, with teaching experience in vaccine stores management aspects.

Fluency in English. Knowledge of Tajik and/or Russian is an asset.
DURATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
Total number of working days: 60 days over the period of April – July 2013.
CONSULTANCY FEE:
Consultancy level - P3; payment will be done on a monthly basis upon satisfactory completion of all
assignments, certified by the supervisor.
TRAVEL AND DAILY SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE:
Travel from the country of origin of the consultant will be undertaken by most economical carrier in
economy class. The consultant will receive UN-approved DSA while in Tajikistan.
DUTY STATION:
The consultant will be stationed in Dushanbe, Tajikistan with frequent travel to all regions of the country.
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS:
Consultant’s performance will be evaluated against the following criteria: timeliness, responsibility,
initiative, communication, and quality of the products delivered.
Health Statement and certificate of Good Health must be received prior to signing the contract.
Supervision:
1. Chief Health & Nutrition, UNICEF Tajikistan.
2. Health Specialist, UNICEF Tajikistan
Application:
Qualified candidates are requested to submit a Letter of interest, CV and UN P-11 form to
recruitmentdushanbe@unicef.org by the deadline of 15 March 2013.
In their Letter of interest, candidates should highlight previous work experience relevant to the
assignment, the attributes that make them suitable, their proposed approach to the assignment and their
anticipated fee per w/d for the consultancy work.
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