NUTRITION IN EMERGENCY RISK REDUCTION, PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE IN LAC.

To support regional initiatives in the area of Nutrition in the LAC region, with an emphasis on Nutrition in Emergencies (NiE) and capacity development of National counterparts, UNICEF staff and other stakeholders for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and emergency preparedness and response.

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For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is one of the most disaster–prone regions in the world. Increasingly vulnerable to the effects of a range of natural hazards, climate change and armed conflict and violence, imminent threats to human lives and individual wellbeing are of increasing concern.

There is an estimation of 53 million people living in food insecure households further underlining the deep rooted social and economic disparities in the region^[1]. The most vulnerable population groups to malnutrition, as well as to the impact of disasters and emergency situations, are the rural and urban poor, those who belong to indigenous and afro-descendants' groups, have low educational levels and limited access to health services and inadequate water and sanitation.

UNICEF is a key global actor in Nutrition both in development and emergency contexts. As part of development programs UNICEF supports the capacity development of national governments and other key stakeholders to achieve Nutrition security for the most vulnerable groups. In emergency situations, UNICEF has identified the Nutrition sector as a key priority in its "Core Commitments for Children" (CCCs) in Humanitarian Action, and is committed to support the prevention and care for malnutrition of affected and displaced populations, with particular focus on children and women. Under the provisions of the Humanitarian Reform, promoted by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), UNICEF has been designated as agency leader of the Nutrition Cluster with the responsibility to coordinate the humanitarian response at times of emergencies, to deliver a more efficient and effective response to the affected communities, as well as coordinate preparedness actions for capacity strengthening of all involved actors.

In 2016, UNICEF's Latin America and Caribbean Office (LACRO) developed or consolidated several innovative approaches, including:

- In collaboration with the Global Nutrition Cluster (GNC) and UNICEF's programme Division (PD) in New York, LACRO is supporting "Regional Nutrition Cluster" approach, which in addition to the regular programmatic support to UNICEF Country offices (COs), support regional and national sectoral coordination and NiE preparedness and response capacity building, through a multi-stakeholder "Group for Nutrition Resilience" (GRIN), operating through three sub-regional groups.

- LACRO has developed a tool for the standardized definition and monitoring of regional and national NiE preparedness and response capacity (GRIN Matrix), using as a base the values of the dimensions of the INFORM model with the addition of nutrition-specific indicators. The tool and the approach has been adopted by WASH and Education sectors in LACRO and is being evaluated by UNICEF in other regions.

- By using primarily telematics communication LACRO has able to engage, in an effective and efficient way, key stakeholders in 30 countries, even where UNICEF has limited or no in-country technical capacity, creating a model of Programmatic Hub for NiE, which may be extended in future to all nutrition programmatic components.

- Innovative capacity building and information sharing approaches, include an online document depository in collaboration with REDLAC and a Facebook page, in addition to global webinars, quarterly sub-regional webinars, and country-focused workshops for national stakeholders.

LACRO is also contributing to the development of a combined protocol for the management of both moderate and severe acute malnutrition which is being piloted in Ecuador, Bolivia and Haiti and considered by other countries in the region.

-Evidence generation is also a priority for LACRO and in 2016 a resilience-focused analysis of the WASH and Nutrition response to the drought in the Corredor Seco of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, was conducted, to identify key opportunities for greater alignment of development and humanitarian efforts and building the resilience of vulnerable populations.

The reduction of risk of malnutrition at times of emergencies is grounded in ongoing preventive measures to improve the nutritional status of children, adolescent girls and women of reproductive age, combining Nutrition specific interventions across the life-cycle, with Nutrition Sensitive interventions in other sectors like Health, Water and Sanitation and Food Security among others.                          

LACRO is seeking an individual consultant to provide technical support to consolidate the above initiatives and develop new approaches to strengthen the capacities of UNICEF programme staff in countries, national counterparts and partners in reducing the risk of malnutrition and improve emergency preparedness and response capacity.

[1] Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL)/Fondo de las Naciones Unidas para la Infancia (UNICEF), Desagios. Boletin de la infancia y adolescencia sobre el avance de los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio, N°2, Santiago de Chile, abril de 2006

Purpose of the Assignment

To support regional initiatives in the area of Nutrition in the LAC region, with an emphasis on Nutrition in Emergencies (NiE) and capacity development of National counterparts, UNICEF staff and other stakeholders for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and emergency preparedness and response.

Assignment Tasks

Under the supervision of the Regional Nutrition Specialist and in collaboration with the Regional WASH Specialist, the Regional Health Advisor and the emergency unit, the Nutrition in Emergencies consultant will focus on:

1. Regular monitoring of regional NiE preparedness and response capacity:
   • Update the list of national focal points for NiE.
   • Analyze the results of the GRIN-LAC matrix to guide resilience building efforts, risk-informed programming, development of national emergency preparedness plans and fostering lateral collaboration among countries in the region. (every six months or as and when required)
   • Contribute to the development of a national model of GRIN-LAC Matrix to map and monitor preparedness and response capacity at the sub-national level.
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2. Continued specific support to UNICEF country offices (COs):
   • Provide in-situ technical support on nutrition in emergencies (ongoing task which may include travel to countries)
   • Review COs NiE preparedness and response in consideration of the various stages of national + sub-national response process (every six months or as and when required).
   • Support COs in implementing guidance to improve Risk-Informed Programming.
   • Assist with surge capacity for response in nutrition in emergencies (as and when required which may include travel to countries).
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3. DRR and emergency preparedness and response capacity
   • contribute to the development of regional and country-specific approaches for the prevention of acute malnutrition among high risk populations.
   • Compile information on regional examples of resilience in nutrition; develop case studies and advise/ promote opportunities for COs to integrate resilience-based approaches into their planning and implementation of their nutrition programs.
   • Identify linkages between general nutrition programmes, nutrition surveillance and emergency responses to analyze how all components contribute to resilience building.
   • In collaboration with the GNC and PD Provide strategic and technical support to COs on development and refinement of programming for moderate and severe acute malnutrition care, including guidelines, information systems, tools, organizing trainings etc.
   • Assess the status of capacity within the current UNICEF regional nutrition surge roster to address capacity requirements and gaps (IYCF, micronutrients, CMAM, assessments and evaluations, planning, cluster coordination) and support COs for mobilizing, coordinating and deploying technical support to respond to short-term surges in demand (including standby partners).
   • support of multi-country preparedness and response plans (Corredor Seco and Children on the Move)
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4. Continued Capacity building and knowledge management
   • Review capacity building needs and activities and outline a regional /county-based capacity building plan.
   • Conduct capacity-building workshop(s) and other capacity building activities with target countries and at regional level.
   • Translate existing capacity building material into Spanish as required and support the uploading of such tools on open access online platforms.
   • Share good practices, lessons learned, evaluations and ensure knowledge/information exchange in the area of NiE for publication in HQ nutrition updates and in Nutrition Exchange NEX global publication.
   • Conduct regular searches of literature, research, agency updates and any other relevant information to share with the network on nutrition in emergencies.
   • Support the planning and conducting of the quarterly sub-regional support groups (Central America, South America and Caribbean) webinars on NiE.
   • In collaboration with OCHA, update the online regional NiE document depository with relevant information.
   • Moderate and support the online regional discussion forum (Facebook). 

Expected Deliverables

1. Updated GRIN group members and mailing list
2. Updated regional GRIN-LAC matrix and written report on its uptake and utilization and update analysis of preparedness and response gaps identified and measures taken to address these.
3. Updated country profiles, including country based strategies and plans to strengthen emergency preparedness and response.
4. Updated regional /country based capacity building plan
5. Concise mapping report of national care capacity for acute malnutrition
6. Conduct at least 10 country-specific workshop/sessions, based on the priorities identified by the GRIN network.
7. Update of the LACRO nutrition database of key national surveys' results.
8. Key recommendations (two-pager) for the development of multi-country preparedness and response plans (Corredor Seco and Children on the Move)
9. A regional roster of potential candidates for NiE surge capacity at times of crisis (In collaboration with HR and Emergency sections)
10. Re-issue guidance and best practices in Infant Feeding in emergencies, including Zika, and WASH/Nutrition synergy,
11. Two quarterly sub-regional webinars, including redaction and sharing of webinars notes.
12. Support article contribution from at least two countries and one regional contribution for publication in the Spanish edition of "Nutrition-Exchange"
13. At least three UNICEF COs supported on Risk Informed Programming;
14. Supported remote planning and coordination of national workshops in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador as a follow up to 2016 Nutrition-WASH resilience analysis.
15. Monthly activity reports of findings and technical support provided in key countries on priority areas, as will be identified with GRIN Network
16. End of mission report summarizing support provided during the contract duration, and recommendations for further development the regional, sub-regional and national NiE initiatives and capacities.

QUALIFICATIONS AND SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

• At least five years of experience in nutrition programming
• Advanced University degree in public health nutrition or related field.
• Previous work experience and knowledge of UNICEF-supported priorities in health and nutrition, sectoral coordination and experience with database management are valuable assets
• Fluency in oral and written English and Spanish; French and/or Portuguese is an added advantage.

ESTIMATED DURATION OF THE CONTRACT AND PROPOSAL

Seven months' consultancy, from 1^st April to 31^st October 2017 with possibility for extension based on performance and availability of funds.

Reporting Responsibilities/supervision

The consultant will be supervised by the Regional Nutrition Specialist in UNICEF LACRO.

CONSULTANTS WORK PLACE

The hired consultant will work primary from UNICEF LACRO in Panama City but may be requested to travel at short notice for surge missions for emergency response if required. If travel is required, travel costs will be covered by UNICEF and DSAs will apply as per corporate guidance. 

HONORARIA & FEES:

Applicants are requested to submit an economic proposal for the consultancy.

CLOSING DATE:

The deadline to receive applications is COB 28^th February, 2017.

To view our competency framework, please click here. 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.