L’Unicef recherche un entrepreneur en gestion intégrée de la malnutrition aiguë (IMAM), Gaborone, Botswana

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Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, health

 

How can you make a difference?

Background :

Malnutrition continues to be a challenge for Botswana, despite the upper-middle income status. According to the latest available data, wasting, which is a form of malnutrition characterized by thinness, affects an estimated 14,888 children under five years (5.1%) every year in Botswana. At the same time, the prevalence of stunting and overweight are estimated at 19.8 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively, in children under age 5. More recent national programme data for 2021 indicate a 3.2 per cent prevalence of underweight (which can be indicative of both acute and chronic malnutrition) in children aged 0 – 59 months.

The Government of Botswana has expressed strong commitment to address malnutrition. This is evidenced by the development of national guidelines for IMAM and commitment of resources towards their implementation. The next stage is to raise awareness about the guidelines and to enhance the capacities of all health care workers at national and district level to use them. This consultancy is therefore part of UNICEF and MoH larger effort to promote the implementation of the IMAM approach.

The Government is also committed to addressing disparities in the coverage and distribution of human and technical resources to improve nutrition in Botswana varies across regions. Southern and North Western regions have the lowest coverage of nutrition services, with Boteti, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi North, Kweneng West, Kgalagadi South, Mabutsane, and Okavango, being the districts with the highest malnutrition rates in Botswana. The above districts also suffer from inadequately skilled health workers to provide quality health care and nutrition services. The same districts are further affected by other social determinants of health such as poverty, weak health delivery systems, insufficient coverage of mobile services, unemployment, low social support and unreliable transport. The implementation of the IMAM approach is therefore a huge opportunity for the Government of Botswana to reach the most deprived and marginalized districts with essential nutrition services.

 

Purpose of Activity/Assignment :

The purpose of this assignment is to support the Ministry of Health (MoH) to scale-up the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) program and introduce family and community screening of acute malnutrition. Specifically, UNICEF and the MoH are seeking the services of a consultant to support the roll out of the program to selected districts. The consultant will be based in the Nutrition and Food Control Division at MoH. The assignment will involve development of training materials based on national guidelines, adapting other international practices on management of acute malnutrition to suit the Botswana context, facilitating national and district training workshops on the same, and providing quality assurance and backup support in the rollout of IMAM. The IMAM approach places emphasis on agility in the screening of children for malnutrition, empowerment of families to be able assess the health and nutrition status of their children, and ultimately provide swift and effective management and treatment of malnourished children and adolescents. The assignment will focus on seven districts with high rates of malnutrition in Botswana namely: Ghanzi, Kgalagadi North, Kweneng West, Kgalagadi South, Okavango, Mabutsane, and Boteti.

The assignment is contributing to Output 1.1 of the Joint Work Plan between UNICEF and the Government of Botswana on Health and Nutrition: “Government has improved capacity to plan, monitor and provide quality maternal, child and neonatal health, HIV, nutrition, and sanitation services”

 

Scope of Work :

As highlighted above, the assignment will entail the following :

• Development of training materials: The assignment will start with the development of simple and user-friendly training materials as guided by national IMAM guidelines. These will include guidance notes and power-point presentations to be used during training workshops and other dissemination events. Additionally, the consultant is also expected to adapt and contextualize the Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) guidelines to focus on family and community level screening of acute malnutrition ;
• National and district workshops: Use the training above training materials and other relevant resources to facilitate five (5) training of trainers’ workshops targeting officials from the MoH national nutrition office and District Health Management Teams (DHMTs). It is expected that the trained cadres will support the rollout of IMAM guidelines in selected districts ;
• Quality assurance: In close collaboration with UNICEF’s Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Health and Nutrition Specialist of UNICEF Botswana, the consultant will be required to provide quality assurance support to district health and nutrition teams as they implement IMAM guidelines as well as the MUAC approach ;
• Demand driven technical support and reporting: Lastly, the consultant is expected to provide demand driven technical support to MoH and DHMTs in case they have any questions after the training workshop, or they encounter challenges in the rollout of IMAM and MUAC guidelines. At the end of the assignment the consultant is expected to produce a short report articulating lessons learned and recommendations.

The assignment is expected to be carried out between June and December 2022.

Deliverables :

Tasks/Milestone:	Deliverables/Outputs:	Timeline	Payment schedule
Development of training materials Training package: • Simple guiding/instruction notes • Power Point Presentation • Practical exercises	a. National health worker Training of Trainers (ToTs) training package developed b. Training package on family and community screening of acute malnutrition with particular focus on wasting (MUAC) developed. c. Workshop training plans and/or agenda	July 2022	Monthly
National and district Training of Trainers’ workshops	a. Three (3) national training workshops on IMAM protocols for dieticians, nutritionist and clinicians (20 to 25 pax per workshop); b. Two (2) sub-national training workshops on Family and community MUAC approaches ((20 to 25 pax per workshop).	August 2022   September 2022	Monthly
Quality assurance	a. Two teach-back sessions observed, and feedback provided	October 2022	Monthly
Demand driven technical support and reporting	a. All enquiries and/or from the trainees and MoH responded to within a week b. Final report documenting lessons learned, good practices and recommendations	November 2022   December 2022	Monthly

Administrative issues :

The selection and conditions of service of consultant will be governed by and subject to UNICEF’s Policies and General Terms and Conditions for individual consultants/contractors.

No contract may commence unless the contract is signed by both UNICEF and the consultant/contractor.

Consultant/Contractor will be required to complete mandatory online courses (e.g. Ethics, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Security) upon receipt of offer and before the signature of contract.

Consultant/Contractor will be required to sign the Health Statement for consultants/contractors and to share an applicable proof of health insurance covering medical evacuation (if travel is involved) prior to taking up the assignment.

 

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

Education : An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Nutrition, Public Health, Community Development, or any related fields

Experience :

• Minimum progressive 5 years of experience in the field of nutrition, public health, community development, or any related fields ;
• Knowledge and experience on integrated management acute malnutrition, including simplified approaches, and Infant Young Child Feeding (IYCF) will be an advantage ;
• Experience working with various stakeholders including local government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), agencies, and experts, and understand the working system and values of the government ;
• Previous working experience in providing technical support to the government on policy and local budget planning on nutrition, health, or other fields desired.

Skills :

• Ability to work independently, under pressure, and within deadlines, including strong planning and coordination skills ;
• Good communication, advocacy and people skills and the ability to communicate with various stakeholders and to express concisely and clearly ideas and concepts in written and oral form ;
• Strong interpersonal communication and writing skills, with ability to lead/train a group of individuals and impart knowledge.

Knowledge : Knowledgeable of the latest development issues and national policy

Languages : Professional level knowledge of written and spoken English is a requirement. All reports must be submitted in English.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

 

How to Apply :

Interested candidates, who should be based in Gaborone, Botswana, should submit an online application through the Talent Management System (TMS), including CV, complete TMS and all-inclusive financial proposal.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

If you have not been contacted within 2 months of the closing date, please accept that your application was unsuccessful. Regret emails will be sent only to shortlisted/contacted candidates.

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.

 

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.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. The candidate may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid).