Purpose of consultancy
Provide technical assistance to WHO and relevant stakeholders on the current situation with diabetes epidemiology and management, including early detection and diagnostics, treatment, and patient follow-up.ย
Background ย
According to WHO STEPS, raised fasting blood glucose (defined as plasma venous value โฅ 7.0 mmol/L [126 mg/dL], or under medication for raised blood glucose) was found in 7.1% of the Ukrainian population: 6.7% of men and 7.4% of women. The observed levels put Ukraine in the middle rank of countries that had recently conducted STEPS surveys. Nearly half of these people (3.8% of the overall population) had not previously been diagnosed with diabetes. Raised fasting blood glucose and total cholesterol levels were high compared to other countries. When analysing the prevalence of a combination of NCD risk factors, Ukraine was in a group of countries with relatively high levels, with markedly higher levels in men than in women. Despite this, only one-third of the population with the highest CVD risk was receiving treatment and counselling. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine is concerned by the high burden of disease and the influence of diabetes mellitus on the populationโs cardiometabolic risk, already impacted by war. ย
In 2021, WHO launched the Global Diabetes Compact (GDC), an initiative to reduce the risk of diabetes and ensure that all people who are diagnosed with diabetes have access to equitable, comprehensive, affordable, and quality treatment and care. The GDC operates through 6 workstreams: 1) access to essential diabetes medicines and health technologies; 2) technical products; 3) prevention, health promotion, and health literacy; 4) country support; 5) research and innovation; and 6) governance.ย
The latest WHO report on GDC, published in 2024, provides an update on the technical work undertaken within the second workstream of GDC and presents a list of priority research topics for diabetes. Additionally, the report highlights key areas to address to facilitate the translation of research results into policy and practice.ย
WHO developed the Guidance on global monitoring for diabetes prevention and control that provides a comprehensive framework to support countries in tracking and managing diabetes prevention, care, and outcomes. This document outlines indicators across 4 domains: health system determinants, service delivery, risk factors, and outcomes/impacts.ย
The guidance helps countries align their monitoring efforts with WHOโs global diabetes targets, the Global Diabetes Compact, and relevant global NCD targets. It emphasises the importance of collecting, analysing, and utilising data to inform policy and resource allocationย
In 2024, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine developed and adopted the UNIFIED CLINICAL PROTOCOL FOR PRIMARY AND SPECIALIZED MEDICAL CARE FOR TYPE 2 DIABETES IN ADULTS. The new guidelines require further promotion and better utilisation by primary health care workers to increase the quality of diabetes management, access to services and medicines, and collaboration between primary and specialised care through effective pathways.
ย ย ย
The work is needed to increase the capacity of the WHO Country office to provide technical assistance on various aspects of diabetes management, including, but not limited to, promoting the national unified protocol and guidelines on Type 1 and 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM), assessing the current situation with DM management, and supporting the development of the national situation report on diabetes. ย
Deliverables
1. Based on the national guidelines and standards of care for DM, aligning with the available national and international NCD management practices (e.g., HEARTS D: diagnosis and management of type 2 diabetes), facilitate the development of a series of webinars on DM management for primary health and specialised health care. Activities and deliverables should include:ย
- Webinar content, presentation(s), and scenario.
- Dissemination of the announcement of webinar(s) and delivery of the webinar(s) according to the pre-set schedule.ย
- Assessment of the webinars and brief report(s). ย
By October 31, 2025 ย ย
2. Provide technical assistance to collect available data on DM, facilitate the data analysis and set the content for the national situation reports on diabetes, aligning with WHO strategic documents on DM. Activities and deliverables should include:ย
Facilitate the data request to NHSU and other relevant authorities, who may hold relevant information on DM management, services, and epidemiology (official requests and data sets).ย
- Jointly with WHO experts, conduct data analysis, based on the pre-set indicators.ย
- Conduct desk research on the data linked to the MD epidemiology in Ukraine, including national and international resources.ย
- Provide a report draft, based on the pre-set content, on the provided analysis.ย
By October 31, 2025
3. Provide technical assistance to organise a stakeholdersโ discussion of the current situation on diabetes prevention and management, linked to the World Diabetes Day (November 14).ย
- Concept of the meeting, tentative list of the participants, and agenda.ย
- Invitations, communications with invitees and speakers, final event agenda.ย
- Co-facilitate the stakeholdersโ meeting to discuss the current situation on diabetes prevention and management, linked to World Diabetes Day.ย
- Technical report on the meeting.ย
By November 30, 2025ย
4. Provide technical assistance in developing clinical pathways and DM management algorithm (for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes) for PHC staff, jointly with WHO experts and staff and relevant stakeholders. Activities and deliverables should include:
- Revision of national guidelines and standards of care for diabetes Type 1 and Type 2 management, HEARTS D: diagnosis and management of type 2 diabetes.
- Revision of existing draft version, make necessary corrections, and develop a final clinical pathway and DM management algorithm for a patient with Type 1 diabetes.
- Revision of existing draft versions, make necessary corrections, and develop a final clinical pathway and algorithm for patients with Type 2 diabetes.
- Provide a final clinical pathway and algorithm for patients with Type 2 diabetes.ย
- Facilitate the stakeholderโs discussion on the developed pathways and the algorythms.ย
By January 31, 2026ย
5. Develop and deliver a presentation on Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes for PHC workers during a WHO event focused on NCD management.
- Prepare content, presentation(s), and scenario.
- Delivery of the presentation according to the pre-set schedule.
By January 31, 2026ย
6. Based on the conducted work, provide a technical report on the various aspects of diabetes epidemiology and management, including early detection and diagnostics, treatment, and patient follow-up. Include follow-up actions, recommendations, and lessons learned.ย
By February 28, 2026ย
Qualifications, experience, skills and languages
Educational Qualifications: ย ย
Essential: Master's Degree in primary health care, internal medicine, therapy, and/or endocrinology
Desirable: Postgraduate qualifications in clinical medicine/endocrinology, public health, health care organization/management
Experience
Essential:
- Minimum 5 years of professional experience in primary health care, internal medicine, therapy, and/or endocrinology, including a minimum of 3 years of experience in the management of diabetes, including delivery of diabetes care.ย
- Experience in teaching/training/facilitating.ย
Desirable:ย
- Experience working with WHO and/or other international organisations is an asset.
- Proved experience of cross-sectoral collaboration in health care. ย ย
- Academic writing and data analysisย
Skills/Knowledge:ย
Essential:
- Knowledge of international practices and national clinical guidelines for diabetes management.
- Knowledge of the national health care system, and of the organisation of medical care for patients with diabetes.ย
- Knowledge of diabetes epidemiology and the ability to work with literature.
- Knowledge of the Microsoft Office 365 package.
- Knowledge of virtual meeting applications, i.e., Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, etc.
Desirable:
- Good presentation development and delivering skills.ย
- Good analytical skillsย
- Good communication and facilitation skillsย
- Good report writing skillsย
Languages and level required :
Essential:ย
Ukrainian (Read - Write - Speak / Expert-level)
English (Read - Write - Speak / Expert-level)
Locationย
Partly on-site (WHO office, Kyiv), ย partly remoteย
Travel ย
The consultant may have working trips within Ukraine
Remuneration and budget:
Expected duration of contract : 6 months
Pay band level: NO-B
Contract total value: 9 600 USDย
Daly rate: 160 USD
Number of working days within the contract: 60ย
Terms of payment: The payment will be done on a monthly basis after provision of Technical Report and approval from Responsible Officer.
Expected duration of contract:ย
Target Start Date: 8 September 2025
Target end date: 8 February 2025
Additional Information:
โข ย ย This vacancy notice may be used to identify candidates for other similar consultancies at the same level.
โข ย ย Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
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