Consultancy: Rapid Landscape Assessment of Digital Family Planning Products and Services in Kenya

Overview

Jhpiego is a nonprofit global leader in the creation and delivery of transformative healthcare solutions for the developing world. In partnership with national governments, health experts, and local communities, we build health providers’ skills and we develop systems that save lives now and guarantee healthier futures for women and their families.

 

Background

Kenya has one of Africa's most dynamic digital health ecosystems, characterized by growing adoption of telemedicine, e-pharmacy platforms, digital counselling services, and mobile-enabled healthcare. At the same time, pharmacies continue to play a critical role in family planning (FP) service delivery, particularly among populations seeking convenient, private, and client-centered access to services.

 

Through the E-Pharmacy Project, substantial evidence has been generated on digital FP service delivery, including telemedicine, e-pharmacy models, user journeys, demand generation, insurance integration, digital counselling, regulatory reforms, and business models. While these efforts have generated valuable insights, there remains a need to consolidate stakeholder perspectives and emerging market trends to better understand the future of digital FP service delivery in Kenya.

 

Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this consultancy is to conduct a rapid landscape assessment of Kenya's digital family planning ecosystem and identify opportunities to optimize pharmacy, e-pharmacy, telemedicine, and digital counselling channels for the delivery of family planning and broader reproductive health services. The assessment should generate practical and actionable recommendations for donors, implementers, policymakers, regulators, insurers, pharmacy stakeholders, digital health innovators, and investors.

 

This rapid assessment will generate strategic insights and recommendations to inform future investments, program design, policy dialogue, and market development efforts aimed at strengthening pharmacy, e-pharmacy, telemedicine, and digital counselling channels as scalable platforms for family planning and integrated health services.

 

Key Learning Areas

The assessment should examine how Kenya's digital family planning ecosystem has evolved over the last three to five years, including the growth of telemedicine, digital counselling, e-pharmacy services, direct-to-consumer platforms, and emerging service delivery models. The assessment should identify key market actors, partnerships, business models, and innovations shaping the ecosystem, as well as the opportunities and constraints affecting growth and adoption.

 

The assessment should explore consumer demand and user experiences by examining the characteristics of current and potential users of digital FP services, as well as the factors influencing awareness, trust, uptake, continuation, and loyalty. Particular attention should be given to barriers across the digital FP user journey, including information seeking, counselling, product selection, purchasing, delivery, follow-up, and continuation of use.

 

The consultant should assess the current and emerging role of pharmacies and e-pharmacies in family planning service delivery, including how they are integrating telemedicine, digital counselling, referral systems, self-care approaches, and other innovations. The assessment should identify opportunities to strengthen pharmacy-based family planning services and integrated health service delivery models, including potential partnership and network approaches that support scale.

 

The assessment should examine current financing mechanisms supporting digital FP services and explore opportunities for the inclusion of family planning services within public and private health insurance schemes. Particular attention should be given to opportunities arising from Social Health Authority (SHA) reforms and private-sector insurance initiatives, as well as emerging financing and reimbursement models that could support scale and long-term sustainability.

 

The consultant should review the policy and regulatory environment for digital health, telemedicine, digital counselling, pharmacies, and e-pharmacies, identifying recent developments, implementation challenges, policy gaps, and areas requiring further reform. The assessment should also explore sustainability and scale by identifying viable business models, emerging market opportunities, and priority investments required to strengthen the digital FP ecosystem.

Responsibilities

The consultant will undertake a series of stakeholder consultations that will serve as the primary source of information for the assessment. Approximately 20 to 30 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) should be conducted across the digital family planning ecosystem. Stakeholders should include representatives from government institutions such as the Ministry of Health, the Social Health Authority, and county health departments; regulatory bodies including the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council, and other relevant oversight agencies; and professional associations such as the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya, the Kenya Pharmaceutical Association, the Kenya Healthcare Federation, and other relevant professional bodies.

 

The consultant should also engage telemedicine providers, digital counselling platforms, direct-to-consumer healthcare providers, e-pharmacy operators, pharmacy chains, independent pharmacies, and pharmacy network operators. Additional consultations should be conducted with private health insurers, medical administrators, employer-sponsored health schemes, development partners, family planning implementing organizations, digital health innovators, investors, technology hubs, accelerators, and market intelligence organizations. The assessment should be driven primarily by stakeholder perspectives, market intelligence, and implementation experience.

 

To complement stakeholder consultations, the consultant will conduct a focused review of relevant project documents, policy frameworks, market assessments, sector reports, and industry intelligence. This review should serve primarily to contextualize and validate stakeholder perspectives rather than as the principal source of information.

 

The consultant will undertake an ecosystem and opportunity analysis examining digital family planning service providers and business models, telemedicine and digital counselling ecosystems, pharmacy and e-pharmacy service delivery models, referral systems, financing pathways, partnership structures, consumer demand trends, emerging innovations, barriers to scale, and opportunities for growth.

 

Based on the findings, the consultant will develop strategic recommendations for government agencies, regulators, donors, development partners, implementation organizations, health insurers, pharmacy and e-pharmacy stakeholders, telemedicine providers, digital health innovators, and investors. Recommendations should identify priority policy and regulatory actions, investment opportunities, partnership models, financing mechanisms, service delivery improvements, and approaches for strengthening and scaling digital family planning services in Kenya.

 

Methodology

The assessment should employ a rapid mixed-methods approach centered primarily on Key Informant Interviews. This should be complemented by stakeholder mapping, ecosystem analysis, market opportunity analysis, and a focused review of relevant documents and market intelligence. The consultant should propose the final methodological approach and stakeholder engagement strategy as part of the inception process.

 

Deliverables

The consultant will submit an inception note outlining the proposed methodology, stakeholder engagement plan, interview guides, workplan, and timeline.

 

A preliminary findings presentation should be prepared summarizing emerging findings, key stakeholder insights, identified opportunities and barriers, and initial recommendations. A validation session will be conducted with the client and selected stakeholders.

 

The final landscape assessment report should be professionally written and designed and should be approximately 25 to 30 pages excluding annexes. The report should contain an executive summary, methodology, digital family planning market landscape analysis, consumer demand and user experience insights, telemedicine and digital counselling landscape, pharmacy and e-pharmacy ecosystem assessment, health financing and insurance analysis, policy and regulatory review, emerging innovations and opportunities, and strategic recommendations.

 

The consultant will also prepare a concise publication-ready strategy brief titled Optimizing Pharmacy Channels for Family Planning and Integrated Health Service Delivery in Kenya. The brief should present priority recommendations for government, regulators, donors, implementers, insurers, pharmacy stakeholders, telemedicine providers, and digital health innovators.

 

A dissemination presentation deck summarizing findings, recommendations, and priority actions for stakeholder engagement and dissemination will also be required.

 

Timeline

The assignment is expected to be completed within a mutually agreed period proposed by the consultant. The consultant should submit a realistic workplan outlining stakeholder consultations, analysis, validation activities, and report development milestones.

 

Expected Results

The assessment is expected to provide an updated understanding of Kenya's digital family planning ecosystem and generate stakeholder-informed insights on opportunities, barriers, emerging trends, and future directions. The assessment should provide a clear understanding of the role of pharmacies, e-pharmacies, telemedicine providers, and digital counselling platforms in family planning service delivery and identify practical opportunities for strengthening these channels.

 

The final report should generate strategic recommendations for optimizing pharmacy-centered and digitally enabled service delivery models, expanding insurance integration and sustainable financing mechanisms, improving policy and regulatory frameworks, and supporting future investment, partnership development, market shaping, and scale-up of high-quality digital family planning services in Kenya.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience conducting landscape assessments, market analyses, health systems research, or strategic reviews in digital health, family planning, telemedicine, pharmacy, e-pharmacy, or health financing.
• Master’s degree in Public Health, Pharmacy, Health Economics, Health Policy, Digital Health, Health Systems Management, or a related field.
• A bachelor’s degree in pharmacy will be an added advantage.
• Demonstrated expertise in Kenya's digital health, family planning, pharmacy/e-pharmacy, and health financing landscape, including relevant policy and regulatory frameworks.
• Proven experience leading stakeholder consultations, workshops, and validation processes involving government, private sector, donors, and development partners.
• Strong track record in producing high-quality landscape assessments, technical reports, policy briefs, strategy papers, and investment cases.
• Experience in digital family planning, telemedicine, e-pharmacy, digital health innovation, or market development initiatives.
• Knowledge of health insurance and sustainable financing mechanisms, including public and private health financing reforms.
• Evidence of relevant peer-reviewed publications, technical papers, policy briefs, or research reports.
• Excellent analytical, writing, presentation, and stakeholder engagement skills.

 

Jhpiego offers competitive salaries and a comprehensive employee benefits package

 

Please apply at www.jhpiego.org/careers

 

Applicants must submit a single document for upload to include: cover letter, resume, and references.

 

For further information about Jhpiego, visit our website at www.jhpiego.org

Note: The successful candidate selected for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background investigation.

 

Jhpiego is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

 

“Jhpiego, a Johns Hopkins University affiliate, is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, other legally protected characteristics or any other occupationally irrelevant criteria. Jhpiego promotes affirmative action for minorities, women, individuals who are disabled, and veterans.

 

EEO is the Law”

 

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