UNICEF recruits 01 Consultancy / Provide technical support to the Ministry of Health
Consultancy – Provide technical support to the Ministry of Health to finalize the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) guidelines for Uganda, associated training packages, tools, pocket handbooks for National professionals only for 88 days.
Job Number: 523858 | Vacancy Link
Locations: Africa: Uganda
Work Type : Consultancy
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.
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, a fair chance
Uganda is one of the over 190 countries and territories around the world where we work to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination place in a child’s path. Together with the Government of Uganda and partners we work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the objectives of the Uganda National Development Plan, and the planned outcomes of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework.
Visit this link for more information on Uganda Country Office https://www.unicef.org/uganda/
How can you make a difference?
Under the supervision of the Nutrition Specialist (Nutrition in Emergencies and IMAM) based in Kampala, the Consultant will provide services to support the finalization of the IMAM guidelines and the associated training packages. In addition, the consultant will support the development of a clinical instructor guide, pocket hand books and a national scale up plan.
Background:
Severe wasting is a key contributor (12.6 per cent) to child deaths (Lancet 2013). Children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) face a higher risk of deaths (9 fold) when compared with non-malnourished children (Lancet 2008). According to the most recent estimates of the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) 2016, it is estimated that over 230,000 (1.3 per cent) children 6-59 months have severe wasting, which indicates the necessity of standard guidelines and procedures for the management of SAM to avert antecedent morbidities and mortality. The Ministry of Health (MoH) and its partners are in the process of revising the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) guidelines to guide the national management of acute malnutrition.
Although the current IMAM guidelines were reviewed three years ago in 2015, there are diverse versions with different contents in use by different stakeholders leading to irrational or inappropriate use of supplies and probably inappropriate standards of care. Further, the current guidelines are limited in content for diagnosis and management of children who fail to respond, transport of sick patients, rational use of RUTF in children, and clarity in nutrition management of HIV/TB patients. There is also limited integration of outpatient therapeutic care (OTC) nutrition services in facilities affecting dispensing of RUTF as medicine. Similarly, the country does not have an institutionalized OTC and supplementary feeding protocol (SFP) and training packages. In line with this background, the MOH with support from UNICEF and other partners has been supporting the revision of the IMAM guidelines and its associated training packages since September 2018. The draft guidelines and associated training packages are due for final incorporation of the stakeholder views, editing, pre-testing and roll-out.
UNICEF in collaboration with the MoH will recruit a national consultant to provide services to support the finalization of the IMAM guidelines and the associated training packages. In addition, the consultant will support the development of a clinical instructor guide, pocket hand books and a national scale up plan.
Key Tasks:
Revise the current draft IMAM guidelines to based on the agreements taken during the presentation of the draft guidelines to the N-TWG
Review the current draft of the MoH IMAM guidelines to align it to agreements taken during the N-TWG, and WHO recommendations, .
Prepare a printer-ready version of the IMAM guidelines for graphic design and lay out.
Review, align and finalise the IMAM training packages with the finalised national guidelines
Review, align and finalise the IMAM Participant manual, Facilitator guide, Monitoring and evaluation tools and related job aids to the revised IMAM guidelines. In addition to the technical content, this review and finalisation will also involve preparing training power point slides, clinical or practical examples or cases, and demonstrations to accompany the different thematic areas in the training packages.
Prepare printer ready versions of the Participant manual, Facilitator guide, Monitoring and evaluation tools and related job aids for graphic design and lay out.
Develop a Clinical instructor’s guide aligned to the national IMAM guidelines, Participant manual and Facilitator guide
Develop a Clinical instructor’s guide aligned to the national IMAM guidelines, Participant manual and Facilitator guide for use in the conduct of IMAM clinical practicums.
Prepare a printer ready version of the a clinical instructor’s guide for graphic design and lay out.
Conduct a pre-test training on the IMAM training packages to test the feasibility of their implementation
Conduct a pre-test training of the IMAM training packages and monitoring tools to establish health worker usability and timing. This is to include support in dveloping a participants list, preparing workshop materials, provision of technical assisitance during the training and its preparation (site visit to prepare the clinical practicum). A training report with with key recommendations on the technical content, duration and style of training should also be considered. It is expected that the report contents will inform the consultant on any modifications that may be needed in the guidelines and these will need to be addressed as necessary.
Re-align and address any technical and other gaps in the IMAM training packages and guidelines that may have been indentified following the prestest and generate printer ready versions.
Conduct training-of-trainers at national level using the revised IMAM training packages
Conduct a training of trainers for IMAM at the national level to develop a pool of national trainers for IMAM roll out and implementation in the country. This is to include support in developing a participants list, preparing workshop materials, providing technical assisitance during the process and preparation of the training and produce a reporting with key recommendations.
Re-align and address any technical and other gaps in the IMAM training packages that may come up following the training and generate printer ready versions.
Provide support to MoH and partners to disseminate the revised IMAM guidelines for Uganda
Facilitate the process of dissemination of the IMAM guidelines among stakeholders at the national level. This will include provsion of technial assistance for the preparation and implementation of the dissemination workshop and generating a report for the proceedings.
Develop user-friendly IMAM pocket handbooks and job aides aligned with the revised IMAM guidelines
Develop pocket friendly handbooks for inpatient and outpatient care and supplementary feeding for health workers and program managers.
Develop job aids for ITC, OTC and SFP.
8. Develop a national scale up operational plan for IMAM in Uganda through a participatory process involving national, regional, and district stakeholders. This will include:
Conduct a desk review on the existing IMAM strategy and operational documents including coverage to identify implementation gaps and areas of harmonization;
Conduct a bottleneck analysis (BNA) to understand the determinants of IMAM coverage;
Develop the BNA report;
Conduct a stakeholder consultation involving national, regional, and district participants on the current status of IMAM and mapping to get buy-in and recommendations on the way forward;
Draft and finalise the national IMAM scale up plan with an M&E framework and community mobilization approaches for IMAM using findings of the BNA, stakeholder consultation, and aligned to the national health strategic plan;
Cost the IMAM scale up plan;
Facilitate dissemination of the IMAM scale up plan.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:
Master’s Degree in pediatrics and child health and preferably with higher degree (PhD level) in public health related field, and research experience in malnutrition or nutrition epidemiology.
At least ten years or more of professional experience in clinical services, nutrition, public health, related research or planning and management in relevant areas of maternal, infant and child nutrition, at national or international levels;
Experience in developing guidelines for the management of severe acute malnutrition at country level;
Experience in conducting training of health professionals for the management of SAM in clinical settings;
Knowledge and experience with recent WHO recommendations in management of SAM and evidence on the management of MAM;
Experience in developing reports, case-studies and policy briefs, for a range of audiences including practitioners in the field and policy makers;
Excellent written and spoken English is required;
Relevant experience in health/nutrition program/project development and management with UNICEF is an asset;
The consultant should have preferably attended the UNICEF-supported workshop by Michael Golden (ESARO expert consultant) conducted in Fort-portal in November 2018;
The consultant should have preferably participated in the revision of the draft IMAM guidelines and participated in two or more stakeholder engagement meetings during the revision process.
Proven experience and skills in programme management and strategic planning;
Proven ability to strengthen capacity of national and sub-national counterparts and partners;
Excellent communications and interpersonal skills; ability to influence and inter-act with senior-level decision-makers across different organisations; capacity to act with credibility, tact and diplomacy on sensitive issues and topics;
Proven skills in strong analytical and problem-solving skills and excellent written and oral communication skills;
Effective organizational skills; high drive for results, High commitment and Teamwork and strong interpersonal and intercultural skills;
For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.
The competencies required for this post are….
View our competency framework at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf
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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
Remarks:
Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
Closing Date Wed Jul 17 2019 21:55:00 GMT+0100 (Afr. centrale Ouest)