UNFPA/LBN/2026/06: Strengthening Midwifery Regulation, Autonomy, and Governance in Lebanon

 Scope of work:

 As the lead UN agency mandated to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled, UNFPA recognizes that strengthening the regulatory environment for midwives is essential to delivering high-quality, autonomous Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Adolescent Health (SRMNAH) services. Guided by UNFPA’s commitment to bodily autonomy and gender equality, global evidence shows that well-regulated, autonomous midwives—integrated into strong health systems—can safely meet up to 90% of essential sexual and reproductive healthcare needs and drive progress toward zero preventable maternal deaths. 

In Lebanon, however, the legal governance of midwifery relies on outdated statutory decrees and restrictive policies—such as Decree 2154 of 1979 and Law 249 of 2014 establishing the Order of Midwives—which fail to align with modern clinical capabilities, expanded scopes of practice, or contemporary national healthcare priorities. Overlapping institutional jurisdictions and legal ambiguities continue to restrict clinical autonomy across primary, secondary, and community care levels. Fostering strong, profession-led ownership among Lebanese midwives and navigating these systemic barriers are critical to drafting modernized statutory laws and an expanded scope of practice. Evaluating existing legislative texts against the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Global Standards for Midwifery Regulation, World Health Organization (WHO) benchmarks, and local realities will establish a clear advocacy roadmap to achieve official parliamentary approval and governmental enforcement. 

The aim of this consultancy is to enhance the quality, safety, clinical autonomy, and legal governance of midwifery practice in Lebanon by reviewing the existing regulatory and legislative frameworks, developing evidence-based statutory recommendations and a modern scope of practice, and creating a targeted advocacy roadmap to support official governmental adoption and policy implementation. Key activities within this consultancy include:

• Conducting a comprehensive review and comparative gap analysis of existing Lebanese laws, decrees, and ministerial decisions governing midwifery against the ICM Global Standards for Midwifery Regulation, WHO guidelines, national health strategies, and current field practice. 
• Drafting an updated and modern Scope of Practice for Lebanese midwives that details independent clinical boundaries, prescriptive authority (where applicable), referral pathways, and interprofessional collaboration standards. 
• Formulating actionable recommendations coupled with key entities that will support updating outdated laws, administrative decrees, and licensing/re-licensing protocols under the Ministry of Public Health and the Order of Midwives in Lebanon.
• Designing an actionable, evidence-based Advocacy Roadmap targeting key policy-makers, parliamentarians, professional syndicates, and civil society to drive governmental endorsement and legal enactment.

The consultant will work closely with UNFPA, MOPH and LOM to carry out the following tasks:

Inception phase (5 days)

• Inception meeting to clarify terms of consultancy 
• In coordination with MOPH and LOM, establish an advisory committee to guide and support the consultancy 
• Delivery of brief 2-3 pages inception report detailing the consultant’s understanding of the required tasks and the proposed approach to work including required tools, proposed stakeholders, and consultation process, and detailed timeline for product delivery.

Desk Review phase (5 days)

• Desk and literature review covering desk review of current Lebanese legislation (decrees, professional regulations), ICM Regulation Standards, WHO policy briefs, and regional legal reform precedents.
• Consultations phase (10 days)
• Develop data collection tools.
• Execute comparative mapping of existing texts against international standards for autonomy, licensing, registration, and disciplinary oversight.
• Conduct Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and focus groups with legal experts, parliamentarians/parliamentary health committee members, MoPH officials, order of midwives, order of nurses, academia, UN agencies, syndicate of hospitals, order of physicians, Lebanese Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, obstetricians, midwives and other key actors.
• Synthesize findings into a comprehensive report.

Formulation of Revised Text & Scope of Practice (6 days)

• Draft updated regulatory text amendments and legislative proposals.
• Formulate the modern, autonomous Midwifery Scope of Practice document.
• Develop the strategic Advocacy Roadmap detailing key policy levers, risks, communication messages, and legislative pathways.
• National Consensus & Finalization (4 days)
• Organize and facilitate a policy validation roundtable with key government officials, legal advisors, professional syndicates, and strategic partners.
• Integrate feedback from stakeholders to finalize the legal text proposals, Scope of Practice, and Advocacy Roadmap.
• Develop and submit report of the consultancy 

Duration and working schedule:

The consultancy entails 30 working days extending from October 19th, 2026 till December 28th, 2026.

Place where services are to be delivered:

Lebanon

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.):

Delivery Date: December 28, 2026.  All deliverables will be submitted electronically

 

Milestone	Deliverables	Timeline	Payment
Inception meeting Desk review  Consultation of key actors	Progress report of consultancy  Legal & Regulatory Assessment Report.	November 15th, 2026	40%
Draft Legislative Proposals & Scope of Practice Conduct round table   finalize the legal text proposals, Scope of Practice, and Advocacy Roadmap.	Final legal text proposals, Scope of Practice, and Advocacy Roadmap.   Final consultancy report (English) submitted.	December 28th, 2026	60%

 

Supervisory arrangements:         

The consultant will closely work with the SRH programme specialist and Lebanese Order of Midwives

Expected travel:               

N/A

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements: 

The consultancy will be led by an SRHR Policy & Regulatory Expert. If needed, the consultant can get support from legal and policy specialists, midwives’ experts and public health officers to bridge international technical standards with Lebanese statutory frameworks.

Main qualifications of the consultant 

• Advanced university degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in Law, Public Policy, Public Health, Midwifery, or related SRHR fields.
• Minimum of 15–20 years of progressive experience in health systems regulation, professional governance, legal framework reviews, or SRMNAH policy.
• Knowledge of ICM Global Standards for Midwifery Regulation and WHO healthcare governance frameworks.
• Proven track record leading high-level policy advocacy and legal reform initiatives in healthcare within Lebanon or the MENA region.
• Excellent Arabic and English spoken and written skills
• Demonstrated ability to deliver quality results with strict deadlines 

Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g support services, office space, equipment), if applicable:

Support to be provided by UNFPA

• Clarify consultancy TORs and expectations
• Facilitate organization of meetings and interviews with stakeholders
• Provide input, advice and information when and as needed
• Review the draft documents and reports
• Review final product of consultancy
   

UNFPA is the lead United Nations agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is intended, every childbirth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. The UNFPA Strategic Plan for 2026-2029 articulates the organization’s response to a complex global environment, providing a roadmap for resilience and renewal. It is designed to accelerate the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This mandate is pursued through a focus on four interconnected outcomes: ending the unmet need for family planning; ending preventable maternal deaths; ending gender-based violence and harmful practices; and adapting to demographic change through evidence and rights-based policies.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff who embody these international norms and standards and will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates who transform, inspire, and deliver high-impact sustained results, ensuring effective external relations, communications, partnership-building and resource mobilization in a rapidly changing development and funding landscape. We need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them, and who commit to delivering excellence in programme results

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts. 

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.

Application process and deadline 

Interested candidates may apply online by providing: 

• Most updated CV
• Updated P11 (click here)
• Cover letter mentioning the relevance of past/current experience with the requirements of the consultancy
• Mention in the email subject the post title and number

The above documents must be sent by no later than Monday, October 12, 2026

Candidates who fail to submit the required documents above will not be considered for review. UNFPA Lebanon will only be responsible for responding to those applicants submitting the required documents above and for whom there is further interest. ONLY National Individual consultants, not companies, are eligible to apply.

Candidates assessed by the panel and considered to be eligible for the appointment but who are not selected for this vacant post may be offered an assignment to another position at the same/lower grade, provided that they meet the minimum qualifications required.