INDEPENDENT ADVICE · ASIA & THE PACIFIC
Jim Rock
Senior health systems consultant
Health systems | Climate and health | Planning and evaluation
I work with governments, development partners and civil society to understand health system problems and develop practical responses. My work connects policy and service delivery with financing, workforce, governance, information and the resources needed for implementation.
25+ years of experience
Fieldwork, analysis and programme leadership across Asia, the Pacific and fragile settings.
SERVICES
Expertise across the health system
Policy and delivery work best when financing, workforce, information, governance and resources connect.
01
Health systems policy and service delivery
Service packages, facility roles, referral arrangements, decentralisation and implementation planning linked to staffing, equipment, medicines and infrastructure.
02
Financing, efficiency and sustainability
Facility efficiency assessment, investment cases, strategy costing, financing review, domestic financing and social contracting, with attention to fiscal and institutional constraints.
03
Fieldwork research and analytical design
Stakeholder interviews, participant observation, facility assessment and triangulation of qualitative and quantitative evidence. Practical tools that make findings useful to managers and decision makers.
04
Capacity development and workshop facilitation
Manager training, organisational capability assessment, policy validation and problem-solving workshops. Modified Delphi approaches to build consensus on contested priorities.
05
Evaluation, governance and technical review
Independent programme evaluation, institutional diagnostics, strategy review, procurement risk analysis and appraisal of funding requests. Experience leading country programmes, regional technical assistance and multidisciplinary teams.
06
Health security and climate resilience
Pandemic prevention and preparedness, resilient health services and facilities, continuity planning, and the implications of climate change and declining development assistance for health systems.
SELECTED WORK
Evidence, experience and practical judgement
Recent and representative assignments. Open each entry for more detail.
Vanuatu | National Role Delineation Policy | 2026
Leading revision of the national policy defining service packages and requirements for aid posts, dispensaries, health centres and hospitals. Combined fieldwork research, stakeholder interviews and facility consultation with policy validation and problem-solving workshops. Linked service expectations with workforce, supplies, infrastructure, information systems, inclusion and climate and disaster readiness, and prepared implementation and handover materials.
Lao PDR | Luxembourg Health and Nutrition Programme | 2025
Human resource capacity development expert on the independent mid-term evaluation team for LuxDev’s LAO/035 programme, contracted through hera. Assessed training, scholarships, mentoring and supportive supervision, alongside workforce deployment, retention, licensing and continuing professional development. Contributed recommendations connecting capacity development with funded posts, government ownership and sustainable financing. Fieldwork took place from 11 to 22 August 2025.
Global Fund OIG | Health systems and pandemic preparedness | 2023
Served as the health systems and pandemic prevention and preparedness expert, leading that component of the audit of the Global Fund model for delivering its 2023–2028 Strategy. Examined organisational arrangements, staffing and capacity, indicators and data, partnerships and country-facing communication. The institutional audit report was published in October 2024.
Asia | Health financing and service sustainability | 2022–2023
Led the SKPA-2 baseline assessment in Bhutan, Mongolia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, working with a team of 12 international and national experts. Examined domestic financing, social contracting, strategic information, service delivery, and human rights and gender barriers affecting essential HIV services. Led the report and country recommendations.
Papua New Guinea | Primary health care efficiency | 2021–2022
For the PNG Australia Transition to Health programme, designed a primary health care efficiency tool and supported analysis across six provinces. Combined diagnostic work, facility manager training and recommendations for wider health system adjustment. The tool linked workforce deployment, medicines and equipment, and facility use, with indicator guidance and comparisons across sites.
Global Fund TRP | RSSH technical review | 2016–2021
Served as Joint Focal Point for Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health, co-leading technical review involving 26 international health systems experts. Assessed technical quality, strategic coherence, feasibility and implementation capacity across health system functions. Co-authored the October 2021 TRP advisory paper on RSSH.
Regional and country programme leadership
Founding Director of the UNAIDS Technical Support Facility for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, serving 26 countries. Earlier Country Director for Family Health International in Timor-Leste, with additional country leadership in Kosovo, Pakistan and Myanmar. This experience connects technical advice with programme management, partnerships, donor accountability and operational realities.
Further examples: PNG efficiency and financing · Timor-Leste programme leadership
ANALYTICAL INNOVATION
The method needs to fit the problem
These assignments show how I combine research, structured judgement and practical tools to support health system decisions.
Afghanistan · Participant observation
During the 2018 Sehatmandi assignment, I used participant observation while taking part in proposal evaluation and contract negotiations with the Ministry of Public Health. This helped analyse how procurement worked in practice and identify risks involving scoring, management plans, cash flow and winter supplies. I translated observations into a risk matrix, recommendations, scoring tools, negotiation guidance and on-the-job training. The evaluation process covered 83 proposals for 23 provinces.
Nepal · Modified Delphi
In 2019, I adapted and led a modified Delphi approach for the HIV minimum service package. Technical briefings, individual scoring, analysis of disagreement, facilitated discussion and rescoring helped participants work through contested priorities. The workshop achieved consensus on the relative importance of 37 interventions and approaches while recognising differences in needs across key populations and geographic settings.
PNG · Primary health care efficiency
I designed a practical primary health care efficiency tool that brought staffing, medicines, equipment and facility activity into a common assessment. Explanations of indicators, structured data collection and site comparisons supported managers in identifying mismatches between resources and service use. The approach combined diagnosis with manager training and recommendations for resource allocation and wider health system adjustment.
WORK IN PROGRESS · 2026 MANUSCRIPT
Health in the Balance
I am developing a practical handbook on climate change, health systems and declining development assistance. The 2026 manuscript translates evidence into guidance on resilient services and facilities, adaptation, governance, financing and performance monitoring for practitioners working in low-resource settings.
CONTACT
Discuss an assignment
For health systems advice, evaluation, policy review, analytical tools, capacity development or workshop facilitation, contact Jim Rock.
+61 404 447 850 · LinkedIn
Based in Canberra, Australia.
