Consultant for National Action Plan for Health Security Editing

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Background

The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking the services of a qualified national consultant to provide editorial support for the Government of Malawi's National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) 2026–2030.

All WHO Member States have a responsibility to develop, strengthen, and sustain capacities to prevent, detect, assess, notify, and respond to public health threats in accordance with the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005). These efforts contribute to broader global commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), and the strengthening of resilient health systems capable of responding to all-hazard emergencies.

As part of the IHR Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (MEF), Malawi conducted its second Joint External Evaluation (JEE) in December 2024 to assess national capacities for health security. Following the JEE, the Government of Malawi, with support from partners, developed a costed five-year National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) 2026–2030. The plan provides a strategic framework for strengthening national capacities for emergency preparedness, prevention, detection, response, and recovery.

The NAPHS is a country-owned, multisectoral and multi-year strategic document that aligns with the recommendations of the JEE, the IHR (2005), and the One Health approach. The document consolidates inputs from multiple sectors, institutions, and technical working groups. Prior to publication and official launch, the document requires professional editing to ensure clarity, coherence, consistency, technical accuracy, grammatical correctness, and adherence to professional publication standards suitable for government officials, development partners, donors, and international audiences.

Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to engage a qualified national consultant to undertake comprehensive editing, proofreading, formatting, and quality assurance of the National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) 2026–2030 and produce a publication-ready final document.

Objectives

The specific objective of the consultancy is to provide high-quality editorial services, including substantive editing where necessary, to ensure that the NAPHS document is:

· Clear, concise, and reader-friendly;

· Technically accurate and internally consistent;

· Grammatically correct and professionally presented;

· Consistent in style, terminology, formatting, and structure; and

· Ready for publication and dissemination.

Scope of Work

Under the overall guidance of WHO and the Ministry of Health, the consultant will undertake the following tasks:

· Review the complete NAPHS document, including worksheets, annexes, tables, figures, references, and appendices.

· Perform comprehensive copy-editing to improve readability, clarity, flow, structure, and coherence while preserving the technical integrity and intended meaning of the content.

· Correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, syntax, and language usage throughout the document.

· Ensure consistency in terminology, abbreviations, acronyms, style, and formatting.

· Verify internal consistency between narrative text, tables, figures, annexes, and cross-references.

· Review and validate references, citations, footnotes, hyperlinks, and supporting documentation.

· Standardize headings, numbering, table of contents, captions, page layout, and other formatting elements in accordance with WHO and Government of Malawi publication standards where applicable.

· Recommend minor substantive edits to enhance readability and accessibility without altering technical content.

· Ensure the document reflects gender-sensitive, inclusive, and accessible language.

· Track all revisions using Microsoft Word Track Changes functionality.

· Incorporate comments and feedback received from WHO and the Ministry of Health and prepare the final version of the document.

· Provide a clean, publication-ready version of the NAPHS.

Deliverables

The consultant will be expected to deliver the following:

Deliverable 1

An edited draft of the NAPHS with tracked changes and editorial comments.

Deliverable 2

A clean, publication-ready version of the NAPHS in Microsoft Word and PDF formats incorporating all approved revisions.

Deliverable 3

An editorial report summarizing:

• Key edits made;

• Issues identified during the review process;

• Recommendations for future publication improvements.

Deliverable 4

Any supporting editorial tools or materials used, including style sheets and formatting guides, where applicable.

Timelines and Milestones:

The consultancy will be undertaken over a period of ten (10) working days.

Milestone

Timeline

Inception meeting with WHO and Ministry of Health

Within 2 days of contract signature

Submission of first edited draft

Within 5 working days of receipt of draft document

Receipt of consolidated feedback

As agreed by WHO and Ministry of Health

Submission of final publication-ready version

Within 5 working days of receipt of consolidated feedback

The assignment is expected to be primarily home-based, with one in-person meeting in Lilongwe and additional virtual consultations as required.

Estimated document length: Approximately 100–200 pages.

Qualifications, experience, and competencies

Education

Essential: Advanced university degree (Master's level or higher) in English, Communications, Journalism, International Development, Social Sciences, or a related field.

Desirable: Public Health Communications is an added advantage

Experience

Essential:

· At least five (5) years of demonstrated professional experience in editing, copy-editing, technical writing, or publication development.

· Proven experience editing complex technical, strategic, policy, or programme documents, preferably within public health, health security, development, government, or international organization settings.

· Demonstrated experience working with multisectoral documents involving multiple stakeholders and technical disciplines.

Desirable:

· Previous experience supporting WHO, United Nations agencies, government ministries, or development partners is highly desirable.

Skills and Competencies

· Excellent written and spoken English with exceptional editing and proofreading skills.

· Strong attention to detail and ability to ensure accuracy and consistency.

· Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word, including Track Changes and document formatting functions.

· Ability to work independently and deliver high-quality outputs within tight deadlines.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively with technical teams.

Technical Supervision

The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the WHO Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Team Lead and the WHO Representative to Malawi.

Technical guidance and coordination will be provided jointly by WHO and designated Ministry of Health focal persons responsible for the NAPHS process.

The consultant will provide regular progress updates throughout the assignment.

Location: Lilongwe, Malawi

Contract duration: actual contract for 10 days.

- Start date: 10 August 2026

Remuneration and budget (travel costs excluded)

The consultant will be remunerated at a daily rate equivalent to the National Officer Category (NOC) Level 3 rate, in accordance with WHO consultancy policies and applicable Information Notes.

Payment will be milestone-based and subject to satisfactory completion and acceptance of all deliverables by WHO.

The consultant shall be responsible for all applicable taxes, insurance, and statutory obligations.

All materials, reports, and outputs developed under this consultancy shall remain the intellectual property of the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization.