The investment design for the Medical Workforce Support Program (MWSPV) in Vanuatu is provided for information to the market, prospective tenderers and suppliers. This is a continued Australian Government aid investment in the Health Sector with an estimated budget of AUD3million over three (3) years from 2016 to 2019.

Vanuatu has one of the lowest doctor and nurse-to-population ratios in the Pacific (estimates are 0.19 doctors and 1.58 nurses and midwives per 1,000 population) and there is a geographic and skills mal-distribution between urban, rural and remote communities.

As well as helping to address these inequalities, the MWSPV program is central to the provision of essential hospital services in Vanuatu's two main hospitals which serve over 80 per cent of the population. In parallel, ni-Vanuatu doctors are being trained to take on these specialist roles, with many studying as Australian Awards students.

This program is scheduled to last for a three year period. The expectation is that this will occur before December 2016 when the current agreement with the current managing contractor comes to an end. June 2016 is the timeframe in which a new contract should be in place to allow for a transition period through to December 2016.

The goal of the new MWSPV is intended to assist the GoV, through the Ministry of Health (MoH), to maintain and strengthen its delivery of clinical health services under the leadership of senior Ni-Vanuatu doctors. The MWSPV aims to strengthen the underlying systems that are essential for achieving this goal.

Medical Workforce Support Program (Vanuatu) Design Document [PDF 1.15 MB]

Medical Workforce Support Program (Vanuatu) Design Document [DOCX 1.40 MB]

DFAT has released this design prior to a planned Request for Tender (RFT) release later this year on the AusTender website. It is expected that an organisation will be required to provide management and implementation services for the delivery of the MWSPV design and achievement of the targeted outcomes. The Request for Tender (RFT) is expected to be released in Quarter 4 of 2015.