Senior National - Legal Expert 

KP TA - Embedded Technical Assistance to the Directorate of Public Health, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Strengthening International Health Regulations Governance Mechanisms and Supporting the Revision of the Public Health Act 2017

Programme Overview 

Evidence for Health (E4H) is a Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)-funded programme aimed at strengthening Pakistan's healthcare system, thereby decreasing the burden of illness and saving lives. E4H provides technical assistance (TA) to the Federal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Punjab governments, and is being implemented by Palladium along with Oxford Policy Management (OPM).

Through its flexible, embedded, and demand-driven model, E4H supports the government to achieve a resilient health system that is prepared for health emergencies, responsive to the latest evidence, and delivers equitable, quality, and efficient healthcare services. Specifically, E4H delivers TA across three outputs:

Output 1: Strengthened integrated health security, with a focus on preparing and responding to health emergencies, including pandemics.

Output 2: Strengthened evidence-based decision-making to drive health sector performance and accountability.

Output 3: Improved implementation of Universal Health Coverage, with a focus on ending preventable deaths.

Position Summary

The objectives of the embedded technical assistance to strengthen the IHR governance mechanism and support the revision of the Public Health (Surveillance & Response) Act, 2017 are:

• To strengthen and institutionalize the existing IHR governance mechanism at provincial and district levels, clarifying roles, enhancing intersectoral coordination, and ensuring its sustainability in line with the IHR (2005), One Health, and NAPHS priorities.
• To conduct a detailed legal analysis of the existing Public Health Act, assessing its scope, legal authority, institutional mandates, and operational provisions, and identifying opportunities to expand its coverage beyond surveillance and response to include additional IHR core capacities.
• To benchmark the governance mechanism and legal framework against global best practices and Pakistan’s commitments to the IHR, Universal Health Coverage (UHC), and the One Health approach.
• To identify legal, institutional, and operational gaps in both the governance mechanism and the current law, including gaps in areas such as risk communication, laboratory services, points of entry, chemical and radiological events, and multisectoral coordination.
• To develop and deliver a revised, updated Public Health Act that is comprehensive, enforceable, aligned with international obligations, and supportive of an effective and integrated public health system serving as a strong legal foundation for the strengthened IHR governance mechanism.

Scope of Work and Methodology

The embedded technical assistance will adopt a multisectoral, participatory, and capacity-oriented approach, engaging the Public Health office, DOH KP, Law Department, district health authorities, development partners, and public health and legal experts. The aim is to strengthen the IHR governance mechanism and deliver a revised Public Health Act that is aligned with provincial priorities, international obligations, and the One Health approach.

1. Strengthening the IHR Governance Mechanism

This component will focus on institutionalizing and operationalizing the IHR governance platform established in 2025, ensuring it is functional at provincial and district levels, and effectively channels resources toward NAPHS priorities.

Key activities include:

• Formal notification and facilitation of at least one Steering Committee meeting and TWGs meetings for each IHR domain (detect, respond, prevent), ensuring discussions are action-oriented and productive.
• Support the forums to identify priorities, assign responsibilities, and coordinate resources for NAPHS implementation.
• Present the draft revised Public Health Act to these forums for discussion, feedback, and formal endorsement.
• Document decisions and follow-up actions and provide technical guidance to strengthen linkages between provincial and district levels for sustainable implementation.
• Facilitate the establishment and functioning of district-level forums as proposed in the Act, ensure their linkage with the provincial forums, and support the convening of meetings of these forums in E4H priority district.

2. Supporting the Revision of the Public Health (Surveillance & Response) Act, 2017

This component will deliver a comprehensive, updated, and enforceable Public Health Act that aligns with IHR (2005), One Health, and NAPHS recommendations, addressing identified legal and operational gaps.

Key activities include:

1. Review and Assessment

• Legal analysis of the Public Health (Surveillance & Response) Act, 2017, including its scope, legal authority, institutional mandates, and operational provisions.
• Comparative review of public health laws and emergency legislation from other provinces and international benchmarks (e.g., IHR 2005, WHO guidance, and regional legislative models) to identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities for harmonization.
• Institutional and governance analysis, focusing on clarity of roles and responsibilities, mandates for multisectoral coordination, funding modalities, and decision-making structures across relevant departments (e.g., health, law, environment, local government, disaster management).
• Mapping of current enforcement mechanisms, reporting obligations, and emergency powers, and identification of structural gaps that hinder timely and effective public health responses.
• Utilization of the federal E4H team’s scoping reviews of legal instruments to identify best practices, legislative overlaps, and inconsistencies, ensuring that the revision process is grounded in existing evidence and aligned with national legal reform efforts.

2. Stakeholder Consultations

• Structured interviews and focus group discussions with a diverse group of stakeholders, including government departments, legal experts, frontline health officials, academia, and civil society organizations, to gather insights and build consensus on key provisions and priorities.
• Technical working group meetings are held with the DOPH, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Law Department, and other relevant directorates to jointly review findings, test assumptions, and validate proposed legal reforms.
• Engagement with non-health sectors such as livestock, environment, local government, and disaster management, through the existing One Health coordination mechanism, to ensure that the revised Act supports intersectoral action and integrated health governance.

3. Drafting and Validation

• Development of a revised and consolidated draft of the Public Health (Surveillance & Response) Act, 2017, incorporating technical inputs, legal analysis, and stakeholder feedback. The draft will reflect principles of equity, accountability, One Health, and compliance with IHR core capacities.
• Legal vetting by the Law Department to ensure the draft meets constitutional, procedural, and operational standards and is fully aligned with the provincial legal framework.
• Validation workshop with stakeholders from all relevant sectors to solicit final feedback, build ownership, and confirm institutional feasibility before submitting the proposal formally for endorsement and legislative action.

This two-pronged approach, strengthening the governance mechanism while revising the Act will ensure that KP’s IHR functions are both operationally effective and legally supported, enabling a coordinated, sustainable response to health security challenges.

Responsibilities

The Legal Expert will work to achieve the following:

1. Snapshot brief identifying key legal gaps and overlaps in the current Public Health Act and related laws.
2. Draft revised Public Health (Surveillance & Response) Act aligned with IHR, One Health, and NAPHS priorities.
3. Final legally vetted and endorsed Public Health Act ready for legislative processing
4. Brief on legal roles, mandates, and procedures to support operationalization of the revised Act and governance mechanism.
5. Participation in dissemination workshop to explain legal provisions and respond to stakeholder queries.

Timeline and Days

The level of effort (LOE) for the role is 40 days per month, from August 2025 to March 2026.

Requirement

Technical Expertise

• LLM with at-least 15 years of experience.
• Proven expertise in legal review, drafting, and revision of public health or administrative laws, preferably in the context of health systems or emergency legislation.
• Strong understanding of public health law, including legislation related to disease surveillance, emergency powers, and enforcement mechanisms.
• Familiarity with the IHR 2005, and their legal implications at national and subnational levels.
• Experience in legal gap analysis, policy harmonisation, and aligning overlapping or outdated laws with modern public health needs.

Competencies

• Ability to assess complex legal texts and identify gaps, overlaps, and inconsistencies.
• Strong written and verbal communication for conveying legal concepts to diverse stakeholders.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with government officials, legal institutions, and multisectoral partners.
• Ability to navigate evolving policy environments and tailor legal approaches to provincial contexts.
• Ability to work across sectors (e.g., health, law, disaster management) and facilitate integration of legal frameworks in a multisectoral context.