National Refugees Emergency Health Response Consultancy (3 Months), Nchelenge District, Luapula Province (For Zambians Only)

Consultancy to provide technical support and field coordination of the health emergency response for the refugees in Mantapala refugee settlement and Kenani reception centres in Nchelenge District

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The UNICEF Programme in Cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) is designed to address and mitigate the triple threat of poverty the country’s children face, while responding to the needs with interventions addressing the multiple causative factors.

In response to the combination these threats involve the Programme supports national efforts to improve service delivery in the key areas of: child health and nutrition and HIV and AIDS, quality basic education, water, sanitation and hygiene education, child protection and social policy, advocacy and communication. 

Background of the Consultancy

The government of Zambia with support from the UN and other partners has been providing emergency services to the refugees who have been fleeing conflict from DRC since September 2017. The increasing number of refugees arriving in Nchelenge districts has further stretched the limited resources and performance of the health sector in the province/district, while poor access to water and sanitation and nutrition put the already weak population at high risk of contracting diseases. In response to the influx, the Government with support from partners is providing immediate assistance to the refugees at Kenani transit camp in Nchelenge. Due to the increasing number, the government has allocated a piece of land in Mantapala where the refugees will be resettled hence the need to ensure basic health services are available to cater for the refugee population.

Mantapala settlement is expected to host about 25,000 refugees by end of March 2018 which includes new and old refugees who will be relocated from the Kenani reception centres to the Mantapala settlement. Out of 12,178 individuals registered by 23^rd December 2017, 52% are females and 48% are males. Sixty percent of the population are children below the age of 18. It is estimated that over 100 new arrivals are recorded per day. Continued instability in the DRC suggests that more people will seek refuge in Zambia and hence the Zambian government and its partners need to be prepared for further influx which is projected to continue for the next six months at least. By the end of March 2018, it is expected that the number of refugees will reach 25,000 (including 15,000 children). Therefore, the newly identified site at Matampala needs to be developed urgently to decongest Kenani transit camps, accommodate new refugees and ensure provision of basic services.

The Mantapala refugee resettlement has no health facilities for accessing quality integrated health services which puts the population at risk of ill health, disease outbreaks and contracting other communicable diseases and possible death. The nearest health facility is about 30km from Mantapala. Initial assessment also indicates that some of the refugees are arriving with pre-existing conditions of poor health and the strain of long travel often without food, water and other basic needs. 

The population is further prone to malaria, diarrhoea diseases, acute respiratory illnesses, malnutrition, injuries inflicted by violence in the host country including a high risk of cholera considering the crowded conditions and ongoing outbreak of cholera in some parts of Zambia.

The following are specific needs for the different populations: Children will need to receive vaccination against measles and other routine vaccinations, management of common childhood illnesses: malaria prevention and treatment interventions for children and pregnant women including ITNs, prevention and management of diarrhoea and pneumonia among children and quality services for women of child bearing age including ANC for pregnant women, skilled attendance at birth, essential newborn care and postnatal care for women. Others services required by the population include HIV prevention and treatment services especially for the adolescent girls and boys, as well as health sector response for GBV survivors.

The UN system in collaboration with government will set and provide life-saving health services to the refugee population. UNICEF will support setting temporary health posts, provision of essential life medicines, basic equipment and medical supplies. UNICEF will also support capacity building of health care providers and community volunteers for the Ministry of Health at district level to be able to run basic health services at the settlement.

Justification for the Consultancy

Morbidity and mortality among refugees is always high due to condition the refugees face back home, as they travel and the suboptimal living conditions in the first days as they arrive in the host country. Furthermore, some of the refugees might already have underlying health conditions which puts them at risk. This consultancy involves provision of technical support for health life-saving interventions to the refugee population in collaboration with the Ministry of health at provincial and district level who will be leading the response. UNICEF will work with WHO and UNFPA to ensure basic services are offered for disease prevention and treatment during the initial stage of the response.

UNICEF is therefore planning to hire a consultant who has a health background and experience in emergency response in order to support the District Health Office and work with other partners on the ground to ensure timely delivery of basic life-saving health services to the refugee population. The consultant will represent UNICEF in coordination meetings and share meeting notes with Chief of Health for action; Provide weekly detailed updates on the situation of children and women in line with the CCCs and monitor situation in collaboration with government, other UN agencies and IPs. 

Objectives and Targets for the consultancy

The consultancy is expected to last for a period of 3 months for providing technical support in the delivery of coordinated quality basic health services to the refugee population in Nchelenge district.

Main Objective: To provide technical support for coordinated and delivery of quality health emergency response for refugee children and women in Nchelenge district.

Specific Objectives

1. Provide technical support to the Health Refugee response as per TOR to ensure children and women timely receive quality health services
2. Participate in coordination of the Health response in collaboration with partners
3. Monitor the response and provide regular feedback on progress and challenges to be addressed.

Expected Outputs

1. Quality health services are provided according to the global humanitarian standards
2. Coordinated emergency health response for refuges in Nchelenge district.
3. Timely action taken to avert disease and mortality

Description of Assignment and Scope of Work/Specific Tasks

In collaboration with the District Health Office, the consultant will:

1. Provide technical support and participate in health rapid assessments and reporting,
2. Support the district health team in building capacity of health care providers for provision of health services, linking with nutrition, WASH and other sectors,
3. Coordinate with the government on required capacity building of health staff, undertake situation analysis, planning and monitoring,
4. Support in management of drugs, commodities and medical supplies, as well as identifying emerging needs and gaps,
5. Build capacity of health staff and community health workers through refresher trainings to deliver high impact essential preventive and curative health services for newborn, children adolescents, young people and women through facility, population and community based activities. These will include:

• Measles vaccination and Vitamin A supplementation and deworming medication
• Routine Immunization to children
• Management of pneumonia, malaria and diarrhoea
• Family Planning services for women of child bearing age
• Antenatal Care for pregnant women
• Emergency Obstetric and Newborn care
• Procurement of essential medicines, commodities, supplies and equipment for quality integrated health care delivery
• HIV prevention and treatment services

6. Support in conducting Behaviour and Social Change Communication interventions to improve positive health care seeking and feeding practices among women and children, as well as HIV awareness creation and dissemination of HIV prevention messages.

All these will be done in collaboration with the District Health Office, the UN and other implementing partners providing health services at the settlement.

Methodology

The consultant will be based in Luapula province Nchelenge district and will work closely with the District Health Office using the UN and national reference guidance for the specific areas of work. The consultant will represent UNICEF in all health related matters at district level and provide regular reports and feedback to the Chief of health and Nutrition. In order to provide comprehensive services, the consultant will work in collaboration with other UN agencies mainly UNHCR, UNFPA and WHO.

Expected Deliverable

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Reporting will be according to the deliverables stated in the table above.

Weekly progress reporting (more frequent as and when necessary).

Minutes of key meetings and their deliberations

Final consultancy report on the overall health response, and recommendations

PROJECT Management

The consultant will be supervised by the Chief of Health and Nutrition. Regular communication through emails and tele conversation will take place throughout the implementation period and the consultant will be required to provide regular updates the situation as necessary.

LOCATION AND DURATION

• Duration: 3 months
• Location: The consultant will be based in Nchelenge district with travel to Lusaka as and when necessary. UNICEF will cover the travel costs following UNICEF regulations.

Payment schedule

The consultant will be paid a monthly fee basing on academic qualifications and experience. The contract will be terminated in the event of non-satisfactory performance.

How can you make a difference?

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

• Qualification/Specialized knowledge and Experience

  Qualifications

  • University degree on health (Public health, Community Health or related field)
  • At least 4 years of relevant experience including working in humanitarian environment
  • Experience working with multiple partners especially government, UN and civil society organisations
  • Experience working in Health emergencies
  • Good written and communication skills.
  • Good computer knowledge.
  • Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
  • Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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.

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.

Remarks:

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