International consultant on development of services for adolescent living with HIV in the context of ongoing health care reform in Ukraine

International consultant on development of services for adolescent living with HIV in the context of ongoing health care reform in Ukraine

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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.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

Health care services can play a key role in primary prevention of health conditions to manage adolescent health effectively as they transition to adulthood. Ensuring adolescents’ equal access to high quality, developmentally appropriate, affordable health care services contributes to the foundation for life-time of good health and health skills, and prepares adolescents to be productive, engaged citizens through their young adult years and beyond. 

It is important that ongoing health care reform respond to the needs of adolescents and young people, ages 10 to 25 years old. The success depends if the reforms are able to address the needs of everyone, irrespectively of age, race, ethnicity, income level, social circumstances, or health care needs. Adolescents require special attention and services to promote healthy development, early detection of illnesses and safe transition to adulthood.

This consultancy will focus on capacity building of health care providers and CSOs including adolescent groups on child and adolescent-centred health services and provide technical advice on development of such services within the context of ongoing national health care reform and response to HIV epidemic in the country. In a longer term, the consultancy will contribute to enhanced access to adolescent health services and their development based on the following principles:

1. Make health care financially accessible for adolescents and young adults
2. Provide comprehensive array of services to meet adolescents’ specific needs
3. Train a broad range of health care professionals in the needs of adolescents and compensate them fairly to work in diverse settings
4. Protect the confidentiality of adolescents’ health care communications and records
5. Meet the specific needs of special groups of adolescents (e.g. adolescents living with chronic illness, adolescents using substances, LGBT etc.)

Focus will be on developing adolescent-centred practice and services to improve engagement, retention and the health outcomes. The focus will be on those oblasts with the highest health problem indicators including HIV infection rates.

Through evaluation, it will monitor the success of the service development ensuring maximum impact. It will also map the local knowledge and experience, skilling up local leads working alongside the international expert, therefore ensuring sustainability.

The overall objective of the consultancy is to provide technical assistance to the MoH in Ukraine in modelling of practice for delivering of adolescents-oriented services at Primary Health Care system.

UNICEF, to ensure adolescents agenda is transferred to the ongoing health care reform in Ukraine technically supports the implementation of this initiative. UNICEF in partnership with the SCO Health Right International will develop a groundwork for the MoH to follow with the process of integration of adolescents services into the health care reforms and financing.

The assignments of selected consultant will envisage the following inputs:

Result 1- Raising awareness and high level advocacy based on evidence

The consultant will contribute to raising awareness on importance of investment in adolescent health agenda among the local decision makers and key stakeholders. The consultant is expected to suggest relevant themes for workshops or round tables planned with the local implementing partner, SCO Health Rights International. Each activity should be accompanied with an agenda, expected outcomes and a summary. In addition to the tasks for co-facilitation of workshops and round tables as per agreed work plan of the MoH on modelling of Adolescent Health Services (AHS)at primary health care level, the consultant will be responsible of :

1. Support the project by sharing a technical knowledge on the effective health care provision for adolescents including those at risk and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS;
2. Provide the technical inputs to the Assessment report on mapping of human resources as well as capacity gaps, good practices and entry points at PHC system along with good quality recommendations and  a development of the assessment tools in cooperation with SCO Health Rights International;
3. Assess needs for capacity building of service providers on primary health care level vis-a-vis trained staff in youth friendly centres (YFCs);
4. Support the project to fill a gap in capacity of selected staff at primary health care level in selected regions through developed training work plan with the reference to the defined needs of findings of the mapping exercise. To support SCO HRI in engagement of potential trainers from the defined pool of experts and specialists in the area of adolescent health promotion and rights. 

 Result 2- Capacity building of the PHC service providers

1. To the reference of the capacity needs assessment to develop and propose the syllabus of the postgraduate training programme targeted on GP at PHC system;
2. Contribute to the development of the online training course for PHC providers;
3. Conduct a series of webinars for PHC providers on adolescent health and development;
4. Support to share inputs with the key stakeholders and local decision makers to inform them about the opportunity for integration of the model package into ongoing health care reform;
5. Facilitate on-site training sessions for GP at PHC services per agreed work plan.

Result 3 - Engagement of youth led NGOs in defining of communication strategy to increase the demand side and adolescents health services coverage

1. To engage NGOs experienced in outreach, peer counselling, and maintaining a bridge between the YFHS and their clients, to analyse lessons learnt, elements of success and barriers they have faced and expand this within the PHC system;  
2. To facilitate 3-day workshop with involvement of multi-sectoral key stakeholders, including adolescents with different profiles to increase the demand side for equal access to services through modelling of minimum package of services to be integrated at PHC system and involvement of peers in referral mechanism to increase demand side for adolescent’s health services; 

Provide a technical support to NGO Teenergizer in development of quality assessment tool and written inputs to the report on the adolescent- friendly services form the beneficiaries’ points of view.

Deliverables/Outputs:

1. Sensitization and high advocacy based  on evidence:

1.1. Power point presentations, materials or handouts for dissemination during the round tables and workshop.

By October 30 2017 (2 days).

1.2. Report on capacity needs assessment among health care providers on delivery of adolescent-friendly services;

By December 20, 2017 (2 days).

1.3.  Training work plan including the list of the selected audience; topics, time frame etc.;

By December 20, 2017 ( 1 day).

1.4.  Written comments and inputs to the Assessment report on mapping of human resources as well as capacity gaps, good practices and entry points at PHC system along with good quality recommendations.

By March 30, 2018 (3 days).

2.  Capacity building of the PHC service providers per agreed training plan: 

2.1.  Syllabus of the training sessions taking into account different entry points, strategies and approaches for reaching boys and girls with different vulnerability profile;

2.2.  Handouts and other learning materials (draft protocols, manuals or guidelines, e-learning tools and etc.)

2.3. Programme and materials for the ToT of the national trainers.

All outputs by April 30, 2018 (10 days)

3.  Engagement of youth led NGOs in defining of communication strategy to increase the demand side and adolescents health services coverage:

3.1. Report on lessons learnt and action plan done jointly with NGO Teenergizer on engagement of youth  NGOs in adolescent’s health service

3.2. Agenda and materials of the workshop for youth NGOs including  an NGO Teenergizer

3.3.  Assessment tool and written inputs to the report on the adolescent- friendly services with NGO Teenergizer

All outputs by March 31, 2017 (7 days).

4. Two mission to Ukraine

4.1.  Technical inputs oral and written to the meetings of MoH Advisory Board, and to the implementing NGOs.

3rd week of November 2017 (5 days).

4.2.  Collected inputs to the capacity needs assessment through focus groups and interviews with the key informant

Report on pre and post training evaluation of participants.

4.3.  Training report with visual materials (photos).

3rd week of April 2018 (5 days).

Education:

Master degree in Public Health or other relevant social sciences.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

Five to eight years of relevant experience, at the national and international levels;

Have an extensive experience in providing of psychological support, counselling, development of services and prevention programme in the context of adolescents, especially vulnerable;

Experience  of development of policy documents based on facts for high advocacy;

Experience in facilitation of workshops and trainings;

Previous experience working in CEECIS and Ukraine;

Experience in working with UNICEF, other UN agencies, and other international partners a plus;

Fluency in English and good writing skills.

To view our competency framework, please click here. 

Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable).  Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.

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.