Background

National Consultant for Procurement of Health Care Waste Treatment Equipment/Facility

Project Title: Learning from China's Experience to Improve the Ability of Response to COVID-19 in Asia and the Pacific Region

1. Project Description

With the continuing spread of COVID-19 globally, the impact on human health and the economy intensifies. Confirmed COVID-19 cases, as well as probable and suspected cases, continue to increase in most of the regions in the Philippines, with a high concentration in Metro Manila. Proper management of the significant medical, household and other hazardous waste being generated is an urgent and essential intervention as it could pose additional risks to health and the environment. The ADB has estimated that in Metro Manila, around 280 tons per day of additional medical wastes will be generated, or 16,800 tons for 60 days. There are currently more than 11,000 metric tons of health care waste issued with a special permit to transport by the DENR since the March lockdown.

Health care facilities follow stringent guidelines in waste management issued by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). However, with the increasing volume of medical and hazardous wastes, including infected face masks, gloves, gowns, coveralls, and other protective equipment, the capacities of hospitals, especially those catering to COVID-19 patients and probable and suspected cases, may soon be not enough. Treatment, storage, and disposal facilities and personnel in the country are also limited, mostly located in the National Capital Region. There have been reports that hospital wastes are also being refused by waste management actors due to fear that they might also get infected.

In this context, this regional COVID response project, funded by China’s South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund (SSCAF), will build on and add value to China’s and UNDP CO’s ongoing efforts to support the Philippines to reduce the risks and impacts of COVID-19 and aims to effectively improve the response to COVID-19 in the areas of medical waste management and preparedness in the Philippines. This assignment will contribute to improving the medical waste management capacity technically and operationally to prevent the further containment of COVID-19 and to respond to the increasing medical waste and enhancing the technical capacities of health care workers and service providers to treat medical waste.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives and Scope of Work

The objective of this assignment is to define specifications of mobile autoclaves, provide technical support in procurement process and conduct quality inspection upon delivery. The Consultant shall work closely with the Climate Action Team and Chinese Experts. Specific tasks are as follows:

Procurement of Mobile Autoclaves

• Assess the needs of selected hospitals where the health care waste treatment facility is to be set up
  • One physical visit is expected for the assessment
• Define specifications of mobile autoclaves through communication with Chinese Experts
  • Target device should comply with laws and regulations of the Philippines
  • The target device is expected to have a treatment capacity larger than 1 ton/day
  • The device should be appropriate to the needs of the target hospital/s for the Project
  • Assess the after-sales support and maintenance for the facility
• Provide technical support in the procurement process
• Conduct quality inspection upon delivery, and certify acceptance according to specifications, in coordination with DOH, DENR and hospital administration
  •  One physical visit is expected for the quality inspection

1. Expected Outputs and Deliverables

2. Institutional Arrangements

• The Consultant shall report to the Focal Programme Officer,  and supervised by the Team Leader of the Climate Action Programme Team of the Philippine CO.

• The Focal Programme Officer shall review outputs/deliverables and determine whether to accept them within ten (10) working days after submission.

• The Consultant should also work closely with Chinese Experts to settle down specifications of mobile autoclaves and with DOH and DENR to ensure compliance of laws and regulations. The outputs shall be delivered through a participatory approach, engagement with government, involving focus group discussions with team members.

3. Duration of Work

• It is estimated that the work shall involve a total of 15 person-days spread over 8 months, commencing February 2021 and ending in October 2021.

4. Duty Station

• The Consultant will be required to be based in Metro Manila or adjacent provinces but not required to report to office regularly.

• This assignment contains on-site activities in Metro Manila, while other engagement will be home-based and for accessibility and availability to allow for discussions and reporting on the progress of activities.

• Status report on the outputs shall be expected from time to time or when per requirement basis. Regular online meetings shall be conducted. Schedule of these meeting will be discussed post-award.

Competencies

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications of the Successful Individual Contractor

The successful Individual Contractor should meet the following minimum qualification

Education

• Minimum Bachelor’s Degree in relevant fields such as Environmental Sciences or Engineering, Health Science, Medical or Chemical Engineering, or related fields

Experience

• At least 5 years of previous work experience in healthcare waste treatment and management, solid waste treatment, or related fields.
• At least 1 year of previous work experience related to waste treatment device procurement, maintenance, or management.

Language

• Proficiency in English and Filipino.

?Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The financial proposals from possible candidates should be expressed in lump sum amount inclusive of all financial costs related to this engagement (i.e. transportation/travel to and from residence-Manila and/or within Metro Manila for on-site activities in Metro Manila, health insurance for the duration of the consultancy, supplies & materials, reproduction, communications including internet). Travel expenses to project-related activities outside of Metro Manila shall be paid for by the Project.

The Payment terms are as follows:

Recommended Presentation of Offer

• Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability (UNDP template).
• Personal Curriculum Vitae, indicating all past experiences from similar projects as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate and at least three (3) professional references with contact information.
• 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. Medical/health insurance must be purchased by the individual at his/her own expense, and upon award of contract, the consultant must be ready to submit proof of insurance valid during the contract duration.

Offerors must upload in one (1) file the aforementioned documents.

Templates for a) P11 Personal History Form and b)  Offeror's Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal (Annex 2) are available through the link below. UNDP General Terms and Conditions for Individual Contractors  are also available:

http://gofile.me/6xdJm/bE9TCw8fU

Incomplete submission of required documents may result in disqualification.

Please see the deadline of submissions above.

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

Criteria for Selection of Best Offer

The combined scoring method where the qualifications will be weighted a maximum of 70% and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30% shall be adopted. Only applicants that will receive 70 points from the review technical qualification (CV) will proceed to the financial evaluation.

The technical qualification (CV) will be evaluated based on the following criteria: