PUNTLAND STATE OF SOMALIA
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
TERMS OF REFERENCE
National Consultant, Lead Researcher and Writer
State of Puntland Midwifery Report 2026
Assignment title Production of the State of Puntland Midwifery Report 2026
Contracting authority Ministry of Health, Puntland State of Somalia
Implementing partners Puntland Association of Midwives, PAM, and the Technical
Reference Group
Technical support UNFPA Somalia
Type of contract Individual national consultancy, deliverable-based lump sum
Duty station Garowe, with travel to selected regions and districts of Puntland
Duration 12 weeks from contract signature
Level of effort 25 working days
Reports to Director General, Ministry of Health, through the designated MoH
focal point for midwifery
Date of posting 19 October 2026
Application deadline 11 November 2026, 4:00 pm East Africa Time
Expected start date 24 Nov 2026

1. Background
Midwives are the backbone of maternal and newborn care in Puntland. They provide family
planning, ANC, skilled care at delivery, PNC and newborn care, and they identify and refer
complications that would otherwise lead to maternal and newborn deaths. When midwives are
educated and regulated to international standards and work within a functioning health system,
they can deliver most of the essential SRMNAH care that women and newborns need.
Puntland has made visible progress in midwifery education and service delivery over the past
decade. However, information on the number, qualifications, distribution, licensing and
working conditions of midwives is spread across the MoH, the NHPC, training institutions,
health facilities, PAM and humanitarian partners. There is no single report that brings this
evidence together, and planners cannot reliably answer basic questions such as how many
midwives are actively practising, where they work, and where the largest gaps are.
The MoH, in collaboration with PAM and with technical support from UNFPA, therefore
intends to produce the first State of Puntland Midwifery Report 2026. The report will follow
the approach of The State of the World's Midwifery 2021, jointly developed by UNFPA, WHO
and ICM, and will examine the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of
midwifery services rather than headcounts alone. Given Puntland's recurring exposure to
drought, flooding, displacement and disease outbreaks, the report will include a dedicated
humanitarian midwifery component.
The MoH is seeking a qualified national consultant to lead the desk review, data collection,
analysis and writing of the report under MoH supervision and TRG oversight.
2. Purpose of the Consultancy
The purpose of this consultancy is to produce a nationally validated, gender-responsive and
humanitarian-informed State of Puntland Midwifery Report 2026, together with a reconciled
workforce dataset, a policy and investment brief, and a reusable framework that allows the
MoH to update the report periodically.
The findings will be used by the MoH, PAM, the NHPC, training institutions and partners to
guide workforce planning, deployment, education and regulatory reform, humanitarian
preparedness and investment in midwifery.

3. Objectives
3.1 General objective
To generate a consolidated and validated evidence base on the status of midwifery in Puntland
that supports coordinated investment, professional development, quality improvement and
equitable access to SRMNAH services.

Qualifications and Experience
10.1 Education
• Advanced university degree, Master's or higher, in midwifery, nursing, public health,
health systems, human resources for health or a closely related field. A professional
qualification in midwifery is a strong advantage.

10.2 Experience
• At least seven years of progressive experience in reproductive, maternal and newborn
health, midwifery or health workforce programming.
• Demonstrated experience leading at least two national or subnational assessments,
situation analyses or workforce studies, with evidence of the final reports.
• Sound knowledge of midwifery education, regulation and practice standards, including
ICM standards and The State of the World's Midwifery framework.
• Proven skills in mixed-methods research, including quantitative data analysis using
Excel, SPSS, Stata or similar, and qualitative analysis.
• Experience in humanitarian SRH, including MISP, is required.
• Excellent report-writing skills in English, with a track record of producing publicationquality reports and policy briefs.
• Experience working with government ministries and UN agencies in Somalia or a similar
fragile context.
10.3 Desirable
• Previous work with the MoH Puntland, PAM, NHPC or midwifery schools in Somalia.
• Experience with health workforce information systems or national health workforce
accounts.
• Fluency in Somali.

Application Procedure
Interested candidates should submit the following:
1. A cover letter explaining suitability for the assignment.
2. An updated CV with three professional referees.
3. A technical proposal of no more than five pages outlining understanding of the
assignment, proposed methodology and workplan.
4. A financial proposal showing the daily rate and total lump sum for 25 working days.
5. At least one sample of a similar report written by the candidate.
Applications should be sent by email to both of the following addresses:
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
The subject line of the email should read: Consultant, State of Puntland Midwifery Report
2026.
Date of posting: 19 october 2026
Closing date: 11 November 2026 at 4:00 pm East Africa Time. Applications received after the
closing date or sent to other addresses will not be considered.
Applications are received by PAM on behalf of the Ministry of Health. Only shortlisted
candidates will be contacted. Qualified women and practising midwives are strongly
encouraged to apply. No fee is charged at any stage of the recruitment process.