Job Title : APW (Software Development Nutrition Surveillance System)
Location : Islamabad
Company : United Nations Pakistan
Salary :
Open Date : 2023-10-18
Close Date : 2024-02-18

PLEASE DO NOT APPLY ONLINE

1. Purpose of the APW

The objective of this engagement is to hire a software development firm to design, develop/and or modify existing World Health Organization (WHO) web applications to a National Nutrition Surveillance System (NNSS) software application that enables seamless data entry, robust data analysis, and report generation functions to support informed decision-making and interventions in the field of nutrition.

2. Background

Pakistan has faced a high prevalence of malnutrition, particularly among children under the age of five and pregnant or lactating women. Malnutrition includes both undernutrition (stunting, wasting, and underweight) and overnutrition (obesity and related health issues). According to last nutrition survey NNS 2018, over 40% of children under the age of five were stunted, indicating chronic malnutrition, while over 17% were wasted, indicating acute malnutrition. Malnutrition rates vary significantly across different regions of Pakistan. Baluchistan and Sindh often have higher malnutrition rates compared to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, indicating the need for targeted interventions in specific areas. Due to increased vulnerability of the affected population, there is a dire need for timely and reliable data to enable routine monitoring of the well-being of a population and to facilitate the detection of deleterious trends and design the interventions. The situation analysis of malnutrition in Pakistan highlights the urgent need for a national nutrition surveillance system. Such a system would provide real time data and insights to address malnutrition effectively, reduce regional disparities, provide policymakers with data-driven insights to design targeted interventions and allocate resources efficiently.

The World Health Organization (WHO) intends to develop a comprehensive software/web application for National Nutrition Surveillance System (NNSS). This system is aimed at facilitating efficient data entry, analysis, and reporting to monitor and improve nutrition status of children under five years in Pakistan. WHO is seeking the expertise of a software development firm to develop/modify an user-friendly, secure, and scalable software application.

3. Planned timelines:

• Start: as soon as possible
• Draft report & stakeholder consultation: 30th October 2023 (tentaive)
• End: 7th December 2023 (tentative)
• Number of days: 30 working days

4. Geographical coverage (to be decided in consultation with the WCO and national authorities

• The software development will be at National level.

5. Work to be performed

The APW firm will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Conducting a detailed analysis of the requirements and specifications for the Nutrition Surveillance System software application architecture.
• Designing a comprehensive and intuitive user interface database module allowing users to input data into the system, including forms and data capture mechanisms for data entry, ensuring ease of use and accuracy.
• Generate the source code files for the application, adhering to coding standards and best practices.
• Developing a secure and scalable web application that complies with standards and best practices.
• Algorithms and methods for data cleaning, validation, and preprocessing to ensure data accuracy and consistency.
• Algorithms for performing data analysis tasks such as statistical analysis, or other relevant methods based on WHO growth standards.
• Development of modules for creating interactive and informative visualizations, including graphs, charts, and tables, to represent data effectively.
• Integrating the software application with existing systems and databases, if applicable.
• Incorporating features for enabling user to generate automated and customizable reports based on the analyzed data, incorporating charts, tables for different stakeholders.
• Developing a user-friendly dashboard presenting summarized results, key metrics, and insights immediately.
• Developing manuals and guides explaining how to use the software, including setup, data entry, analysis, and generating reports. Instructions for deploying the application, including system requirements, setup, and configuration.
• Providing training to the relevant staff for efficient utilization of the software application and training resources/materials for educating users and administrators on using the software effectively.
• Plan outlining ongoing support, maintenance, updates, and enhancements for the software post-deployment.

6. Tasks:

• Detailed requirements and specifications documentation.
• Fully functional National Nutrition Surveillance System software/ web application.
• Developing a user-friendly dashboard Model
• Developing training manual and guidelines

7. Deliverables:

Deliverable 1:

• Inception Report
• Conduct stakeholder interviews to gather requirements.
• Document the gathered requirements in detail, ensuring clarity and completeness.
• Architecture diagrams illustrating the softwares structure, components, and interactions.

Deliverable 2:

• Designing the database structure, tables, relationships, and data storage.
• Developing algorithms for accurate and consistent data cleaning, validation, and preprocessing.
• Creating algorithms for statistical analysis, based on WHO growth standards.
• Developing graphs, charts, and tables to effectively represent data.
• Incorporating features for automated and customizable report generation, including charts and tables.
• Features for error detection, debugging removing, and quality assurance to ensure the software applications reliability, security, and performance.

Deliverable 3:

• Developing dashboard model within software for key information on NNSS, summarized results, key finding, recommendation, policy briefs and status of decision taking.
• Integrating the application with existing systems and databases if needed.

Deliverable 4:

• Development of user guides and manuals
• Deployment and installation guide
• Plan outlining ongoing support, maintenance, updates, and enhancements for the software post-deployment.

8. Timelines:

• Deliverable 1 to be completed in 5 days
• Deliverable 2 to be completed in 20 days
• Deliverable 3 to be completed in 3 days
• Deliverable 4 to be completed in 2 days

9. Payment Schedule:

• Completion of Deliverable 1 (25%)
• Completion of Deliverable 2 (25%)
• Completion of Deliverable 3 (25%)
• Completion of Deliverable 4 (25%)

10. Technical Supervision

• The selected Individual/Firm will work on the supervision of Team Lead HPLC, WHO Pakistan.

11. Specific requirements

• Qualifications required for APW/firm:

• Well reputed firm with available experts in field of software development, web development computer science or a related field.
• Certifications related to software development methodologies, data analysis, and database management.

• Experience required:

• Experience in developing similar software / web application for health and nutrition programmes for data collection, analysis, and report generation.
• Past projects showcasing expertise in handling large datasets, data processing, and generating insightful reports related to health and nutrition programs.

• Skills / Technical skills and knowledge:

• Programming Languages: Proficiency in languages such as PHP, Python, Java, C#, dot net or others suitable for the software/application development
• Database Skills: Experience with database design, implementation, and management using systems like MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, or similar.
• Web Development: Familiarity with front-end technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and modern frameworks like Angular, React, Flutter, or Node.js
• Back-End Development: Knowledge of server-side frameworks and technologies like Flask, or ASP.NET Core.
• Data Analysis: Skills in data analysis libraries and tools.
• APIs and Integrations: Experience in integrating with various APIs and third-party tools for data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Cloud Platforms: Familiarity and scaling the application.
• Security and Compliance: Understanding of security protocols, encryption, and compliance standards relevant to data privacy.
• Domain Expertise: Understanding of the domain for which the software is being developed, including knowledge of data types, analysis methods, and reporting requirements specific to that domain.

• Language requirements:

• English (reading, writing and speaking)

Place of assignment

• Islamabad and domestic travel (if required)

Do not apply online. The Proposals are required to be submitted in sealed envelopes on the following address with the title of assignment on envelope by 26th October 2023.

Address: c/o Team Lead HPLC, Promoting Health through the Life Course (Room No .6), WHO Country Office Pakistan, Park Road, Chak Shahzad, Islamabad-Pakistan

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