Purpose of the consultancy
The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical advice to the Risk-benefit analysis and monitoring of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) services in selected countries in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region.
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic is posing unprecedented challenges to governments and health systems. While efforts to mitigate the direct impact of the pandemic on population health are imperative, evidence suggest that the most important effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will be indirect. In multiple settings, access and utilization of essential health services have been compromised, making pregnant women, mothers, newborn, children and older adults very vulnerable.
Recent modelling of the indirect effects of the coronavirus pandemic on maternal and child mortality in low- and middle-income countries has shown that even moderate service reduction scenarios can lead to a large number of additional maternal and child deaths. As a consequence, the world will face a major setback in the progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Modelling using actual country data provides a realistic picture of what will happen to women’s and children’s health outcomes including maternal and child mortality when key RMNCAH services are disrupted due to Covid-19. Modeling also provides an opportunity to identify the most efficient interventions to be prioritized if needed. The outcome of such modelling can be used to advocate for maintaining the essential and efficient RMNCAH interventions and necessary programmatic and policy decisions including target setting. The purpose of the modeling will be to address two key questions:
- What is the potential impact on women’s and children’s health outcome including maternal and child mortality due disruption of essential RMNCAH services because of COVID 19 pandemic?
- Which essential RMNCAH interventions need to be to save the most lives and to result in the least decline in health outcomes among women?