UNICEF recrute un consultant national pour la fin de l’examen des programmes pour : Sauver la vie des enfants aborder la santé mentale du nouveau-né (SMNI) lacunes dans la région de Kavango et Ohangwena Windhoek, Namibie

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Background :

Overall background: This project was part of a wider UNICEF Canada initiative “Saving Children’s Lives: Addressing MNCH Gaps to Create Scalable Investments for the Future” – with programming occurring in six UNICEF Country Offices (Cambodia, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Namibia and Peru). The project was to pilot different health interventions aimed at improving maternal, newborn and child health with the goal to provide evidence to government for scale-up across the country.

In Namibia, the project was addressing disparities in health outcomes for mothers and children in the Ohangwena and Kavango regions due to inequities among regions, ethnic groups and wealth quintiles by providing targeted quality health care to the most disadvantaged. Project activities was focused on low-cost, high-impact maternal, newborn and child health interventions that will demonstrate to the government how to successfully improve access to services for vulnerable families.

The key project outcomes include :

Ultimate Outcome : 1000  Improved child health for girls and boys of Kavango (East and West) and Ohangwena regions

Intermediate Outcomes :

• 1100  Improved collection and sharing of CRVS data in Kavango (East and West) and Ohangwena ;
• 1200  Improved provision of equitable and gender responsive MNCH interventions of mother and children through strengthening the Every Newborn Action Plan in Kavango (East and West) and Ohangwena ;
• 1300  Enhanced commitment to scale up proven MNCH interventions including integrated management of newborn and childhood illnesses (IMNCI), immunization, nutrition and growth monitoring, promotion of breastfeeding, micronutrient supplementation, integrated and focused antenatal and postnatal services, and prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) by stakeholders in Kavango (East and West) and  Ohangwena.

Rationale to this project :

Maternal Newborn Child Health (MNCH) :

Progress in reducing the under-five mortality rate (U5MR) has been slow but is showing a declining trend. The 2013 Namibia Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS 2013) shows an U5MR of 54 per 1,000 live births decreased from 69 per 1,000 live births. However, Namibia did not meet the MDG 4 on child mortality which is 28 per 1,000 live births by 2015. The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) stood at 358 per 100,000 live births showing a very slow decline and not reaching MDG 5.

Although the majority of mothers attend antenatal care services and deliver in a health facility, postnatal care remains a challenge throughout the country. Implementation of key neonatal interventions and postnatal activities need to be given top priority in the community, at outreach and at facility levels.

BIRTH REGISTRATION :

Although Namibia’s under-five birth registration is relatively high (78 percent), enormous inequities exist in access to and demand for birth registration among remote and poor communities, with birth registration rates for children under age one below 50 percent in some of the most underserved regions.  Targeted innovations are now required to ‘close the equity gap’ and ensure the timely registration of births in remote underserviced areas of the country, based on the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Strategic Plan.

Birth registration is the very first step for children from extremely poor families to access social grants. Birth registration is also the first step for children to be enrolled in school.

DEVELOPING A PACKAGE OF INTERVENTIONS :

To address the above MNCH and birth registration gaps in Namibia, key activities per following output were implemented (details of the activities in the project document) :  

1. Output 1111: Community awareness raising on the importance and benefits of birth registration conducted in communities of Kavango (East and West) and Ohangwena ;
2. Output 1121:  Technical group training (including Training of Trainers) and TA on CRVS systems provided to health workers and CRVS staff in Kavango (East and West) and Ohangwena ;
3. Output 1131:  Training (including TOT) and TA on improving quality and completeness of data in information management systems provided to health workers and CRVS staff in Ohangwena, Kavango East and Kavango West regions ;
4. Output 1211: Research on country specific MNCH gaps focused on Monitoring Results for Equity System (MoRES); a theory-based and case study approach to identify best practices needs, gender responsive solutions and corrective measures conducted and analysed in Kavango (East and West) and Ohangwena ;
5. Output 1212: Policies and guidelines developed and/or updated to identify and address MNCH gaps and opportunities identified via the MoRES research in Kavango (East and West) and Ohangwena ;
6. Output 1213: Community awareness raising on country-specific MNCH gaps highlighted by the CSS 2014-2018 and the Mo-RES research, from delays in access to ANC and PNC services to quality of district MCH indicator data, conducted in communities of Ka-vango (East and West) and Ohangwena ;
7. Output 1221: Training (including TOT) and TA on gender responsive MNCH interventions including pro-motion of breastfeeding, integrated and focused antenatal and postnatal services, and prevention of mother to child trans-mission of HIV (PMTCT) developed and provided to health workers in Kavango (East and West) and Ohangwena ;
8. Output 1222: Gender responsive models for addressing country-specific MNCH gaps such as access to ANC and PNC services, availability of eMOC facilities and limited exclusive breastfeeding pro-motion tested in Kavango (East and West) and  Ohangwena.

Below is the MCHW Namibian package of interventions for Maternal and Child Health Days :

9.  Output 1311: Monitoring and evaluation of gender-responsive MNCH interventions including pro-motion of breastfeeding, integrated and focused antenatal and postnatal services, and prevention of mother to child trans-mission of HIV (PMTCT)conducted in Kavango (East and West) and Ohangwena ;
10. Output 1312: Lessons learned and best practices of MNCH interventions including integrated management of newborn and child-hood illnesses (IMNCI), immunization, nutrition and growth monitoring, promotion of breastfeeding, micronutrient supplementation, integrated and focused antenatal and postnatal services, and prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) shared with national and/or regional governments and stake-holders in Kavango (East and West) and Ohangwena.

The implementation of interventions as per the above outputs comes to an end 31^st March 2021. It is in view of the above that UNICEF Namibia is seeking consultancy services to conduct post programme implementation review on “Saving Children’s Lives: Addressing MNCH Gaps to create scalable investment for the future in Kavango (East and West) and Ohangwena regions”, Namibia from April 2016 until March 31^st, 2021.

How can you make a difference?

Scope of Work:  Goal and Objective : 

Under the overall guidance of the Chief, Child Survival and Development and technical supervision of the Health Specialist, with support from the Child Protection Specialist and the Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Manager , the consultant will conduct  programme review on implementation of “Saving Children’s Lives: Addressing MNCH Gaps in Namibia for scalable investment”. The project involved the following interventions: Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care; Kangaroo Mother Care; Integrated Management of Newborn and Childhood Illnesses; Early Essential Newborn Care; Infant and Young Child Feeding; Early Infant Diagnosis for HIV exposed babies; MNH Quality of Care Improvement; eBirth notification and Registrations and Social Assistance (details in the project document).  The evaluation period will be from April 2016 to February 2021.

Specific Objectives are :

1. To determine the extent to which the implemented maternal, newborn and child health interventions have contributed to improving lives for girls and boys in targeted regions in Namibia ;
2. To determine the extent to which the key birth registration interventions under this project have led to improved timeliness of birth notification and access to birth registration in the implementing regions ;
3. To review and determine the extent to which implementation of Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) including scaling of birth registration systems have contributed to strengthening the capacity of health system/workers to implement gender responsive MNCH interventions in targeted regions ;
4. To review the capacity of health sector managers/Health Care Workers/stakeholders and qualitatively assess commitment to scale up proven MNCH interventions within the health system/sector in the implementing regions ;
5. To develop feasible recommendations (for policy makers/development partners) to inform future scalable investment for MNCH and CVRS in Namibia.

Activities and Tasks :  

The Consultant will conduct the programme review to understand MNCH interventions and strategies that have been implemented to improve collection and sharing of CRVS data; improve provision of equitable and gender responsive MNCH interventions of mothers and children through strengthening the Every Newborn Action Plan, and enhanced commitment to scale up proven MNCH interventions in Kavango (East and West) and Ohangwena.

The findings should inform scalable recommendations for future investment in quality maternal newborn and child health services including CRVS .

The process will entail desk review, key informant interviews and consultations with key stakeholders, field visit to selected district/intermediate hospitals and communities in the two project regions (Ohangwena and Kavango), and documenting innovations and any lessons learnt. The programme review shall measure and report the extent to which the programme ultimate and immediate outcomes were achieved (see detailed outcomes above under background).

Work relationships : 

The consultant will work under the overall leadership of the Chief, CSD, with technical guidance of the Health Specialist and the Child Protection Specialist.  The Consultant will also engage with the UNICEF Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager. The Consultant will also coordinate with the relevant Programme Managers in the implementing Ministries.

Outputs/Deliverables :  

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Desired profile :

• Masters Degree in relevant fields (e.g. Public Health, Epidemiology, Social Services, Monitoring and Evaluation or related etc.) ;
• At least minimum 5 years’ experience working on Maternal Newborn, Child health and protection programming with example of similar programme review work ;
• Familiarity with various service delivery care models for maternal, neonatal and child health and civil registration and vital statistics programming ;
• Experience in engaging and or leading consultations in documentation and reporting processes ;
• Experience in review, assessing programme impact, and documenting final project implementation/interventions in the Health and/or CRVS sectors.

Administrative issues :

The consultant will be engaged fulltime in-country.  The Consultant will work on his/her own computer and use his/her own office resources and materials in the execution of this assignment. UNICEF will allocate office space for the consultant (working modality to be aligned to national COVID-19 regulations). The consultant fee shall be inclusive of all office administrative costs, including accommodation and travel to and within Namibia.

Risks :

There could be delays related to changing COVID 19 Regulations. UNICEF will work with the consultant to ensure that the COVID health regulations are followed and mitigation measures put in place when needed to avoid delays.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.  To view our competency framework, please visit here.  Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

How to Apply :

Please visit our careers page at https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/  for details on the consultancy assignment and how to apply.

The search criteria are Namibia and Consultancy.  Please insert requisition number 538302 in the ‘Keyword‘ tab and scroll down to select consultancy on ‘work type’ tab.

Interested individuals should submit a financial and technical proposal detailing proposed methodology, work plan, timeline and samples of similar work.  A detailed breakdown of the proposed cost should include consultancy fee, living expenses and travel both into and within Namibia.  Applications without a financial proposal will not be considered.

Remarks :

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.