UNICEF
For every child, immunization intervention!
Background
Communication for Development (C4D) is a key component of UNICEF’s work, as it is essential for long term and sustainable behavior and social changes that impacts on the lives of children and adolescents, their families, and communities.
Liberia is engaged to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) since 1998. Liberia has been polio free for the past 10 years and has maintained average immunization coverage against polio using Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) and Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV). However, in the past few months, cases of polio were confirmed in the Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea. With these cases occurring close to the borders of Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea to Liberia, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has approved the conduct of two (2) rounds of polio campaigns in counties bordering Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea. One of the main pillars of the campaigns is effective social mobilization for the acceptance of immunization by affected clients for their children to receive vaccines during the campaign to prevent further transmission. This also includes a comprehensive response strategy for advocacy, intensive community engagement activities on vaccination and environmental hygiene. These response and mitigation efforts are critical in ensuring that the country remains polio free. The response is hampered by both financial and human resource capacity for risk communication and community engagement as well as weak health infrastructure.
To ensure Liberia ‘s effort to sustain the gains toward the global end game strategy against polio, the Liberia Ministry of Health established environmental surveillance (ES) for poliovirus at 3 sites in 2020 to supplement acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance. The ES sites for Polio are at the Fiamah Waste Management Treatment Site, Matadi Bridge, and the Redemption street bridge. Samples (1L of drain water) is collected from these sites once every four weeks and transported through a courier service to the Institute Pasteur Lab in Abidjan. No case of Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio type 2 (cVDPV2) or Wild Polio Virus (WPV) has been detected to date.
Considering the complex challenges with hard-to-reach populations due geography, poverty, or movements (farmhands – planters and harvesters), dense urban settlements, there is a need for innovative C4D approaches based on quantitative and qualitative data in an emergency. In addition to geographical access issues, many remote
populations do not have access to communication materials and tools. Intensive efforts are required in terms of analysis, planning, implementation, and training-supervision to achieve a good understanding of the risk communication and community mobilization for an overall effective outcome of the response.
To ensure the quality of communication strategy and roll out of the plans, particularly for gatekeepers, parents, young people, refractory groups and special populations, UNICEF is seeking technical expertise of C4D officers who have experience dealing with public health communication in an emergency setting for outbreak response and a good knowledge of Liberia context.
How can you make a difference?
Purpose Of Assignment
UNICEF is supporting accelerated disease control and immunization there is a need to maintain human resource for C4D as this is a new vaccine with EUL approval. However, routine immunization, Polio and the COVID 19 risk Communication and community engagement activities are happening simultaneously across the country.
As such, there is a need to have one C4D personnel will be required to support county health team in planning, implementing, and evaluating the communication for disease control and routine immunization activities. In this light, it is important to have a C4D consultant at the national level who will support the C4D activities at the level of the central ministry of health and with partners at the national level, given the complexity of the emergency response, need for coordination among GPEI, development partners and government agencies and ensure that there are strategies to address special populations and hard to reach population groups across national, regional, district and sub-district levels to adhere to the preventive protocols that will curb the spread of the pandemic in Liberia while safe guarding the essential needs of children and caregivers.
Basic Objectives Of Consultancy/Contractor (assignment) Services
- To identify gaps and put in place strategies and detailed plans on social mobilization aspects of the emergency response based on field monitoring visits and reports
- To ensure that all additional risk communication and community engagements content activities meet expected quality standards in the counties and are effectively planned, implemented, and monitored
- To support County Health Teams to monitor the C4D component of the accelerated disease control, manage rumors, hesitancy, and refusal, and promote cross- border surveillance and response activities
- Provide support MOH, county and district staff on raising awareness amongst communities to increase demand for polio and increase participation in AFP case investigation and detection COVID -19 vaccines and roll out in schools.
Objective 1: To identify gaps and put in place strategies and detailed plans on social mobilization aspects of the emergency response based on field monitoring visits and reports.
Key Activities/Tasks
Outputs/Deliverables
- Review supervisory reports, routine and SIA data and develop action plan to address identified gaps
- Contribute to the update of social mobilization strategies and plans for polio mitigation and response activities
- Contribute to joint epidemiological and social investigation of infected case/ or area to understand social environment
- Conduct field monitoring visits in urban as well as hard to reach areas and document findings
- Explore how community health workers and civil society networks support community social mapping (gather information on immunization practice, vaccine acceptance in the community, general information on media reach, community influencers, females and males) to support community context of any detected isolate regardless of source
- Analyzed social data with mapped out operational actions as relevant with partners
- Social mob strategies updated, and social mob indicators incorporated within program monitoring and feedback fine-tuned to inform social mob plans used in the field
- Copies of field monitoring reports available
- CSOs involved in social investigation and social mapping
- Awareness on AFP, stool sample collection created in hard-to-reach locations
Objective 2: To ensure that all additional risk communication and community engagements content activities meet expected quality standards in the counties and are effectively planned, implemented, and monitored
Outputs/Deliverables
Key Activities/Tasks
- Plan and coordinate the conduct of advocacy meetings and community engagement activities at all levels
- Plan and coordinate social investigation document and use findings for decision making
- Support the central MoH and County Health Teams to enforce vaccine safety messages, address context specific fears, refusal, rumors and hesitancy around vaccine and Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFIs)
- Support the development of culturally appropriate tools, messages, and materials to sensitize community including radio and IEC material content
- Provide technical support to government for the distribution of f IEC materials and supplies including funds for polio mitigation or response activities
- All planned advocacy meetings conducted and well documented
- Reports of social investigation available
- Risk communication plan to address vaccine hesitancy, rumors, refusals and AEFIs available; all vaccine hesitancy, rumors, refusals and AEFIs addressed in a timely manner
- IEC material and radio content developed and approved by Message and Material Development (MMD) group
- Report on supplies distribution according to distribution plan and liquidation reports received on time
Key Activities/Tasks
Outputs/Deliverables
Objective 3: To support County Health Teams to monitor the C4D component of strengthening accelerated disease control, manage rumors, hesitancy, and refusal, and promote cross – border surveillance and immunization vaccination activities.
Key Activities/Tasks
Key Activities/Tasks
- Document integrated C4D and surveillance activities for polio as per GPEI and UNICEF requirements including reports on hesitancy, refusal etc.
- Support MOH to conduct community engagement to create awareness on AFP and prepare the communities for stool sample collection in healthy children prior to sample collection
- Compile reports, strategies and relevant document needed for OBRT assessments
- Compile final report at the end of the contract highlighting findings and recommendations
- Document integrated C4D and surveillance activities for polio as per GPEI and UNICEF requirements including reports on hesitancy, refusal etc.
- Support MOH to conduct community engagement to create awareness on AFP and prepare the communities for stool sample collection in healthy children prior to sample collection
- Compile reports, strategies and relevant document needed for OBRT assessments
- Compile final report at the end of the contract highlighting findings and recommendations
Objective 4: To provide support to national, county and district on raising awareness amongst communities to increase demand for polio and COVID -19 vaccines and roll out in schools.
Key Activities/Tasks
Key Activities/Tasks
- Conduct joint community engagement meetings with the County Health Teams and address concerns from the communities
- Support the training of UNVs ,CHVs, CHAs and Town Criers
- Support cross border meetings to strengthen polio surveillance and response
- Compile final report at the end of the contract highlighting findings and recommendations for C4D activities in the counties
- Support the roll out of COVID Vaccination in Schools
- Minutes and attendance of meetings attended
- Training reports of UNVs CHVs and CHAs
- Report (with pictures) on cross – border meetings
- Increase demand for COVID 19 Vaccination among school age children
- Documentation of lessons learnt and communication results for social mobilization developed and shared for informing.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
- Education: An Advanced University degree in social and behavioural science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, Public health, Development communication, public relations or other related social science field is required.
- Professional/Technical Experience: At least five years relevant C4D experience in the health sector in lieu of an advance degree. Relevant work experience in emergency response especially epidemics; Experience with public health communication and social mobilization issues.
- Knowledge of ODK or other digital data platform for analysis is a plus; ability to work in a fast-changing emergency setting, ability to use own initiative
- Language skills required: Fluency in English and a local dialect is essential. Other attributes essential for the assignment: Results-driven and good writing skills.
General Terms And Conditions Of The Contract
- Under the consultancy agreements, payment is delivered as per the ToR.
- All remuneration must be within the contract agreement.
- No contract may commence unless the contract is signed by both UNICEF and the Individual Contractor or Consultant.
- For international Individual Contractor s outside the duty station, signed contracts must be sent by fax or email.
- Unless authorized, UNICEF will buy the tickets for the Individual Contractor. In exceptional cases, the Individual Contractor may be authorized to buy their travel tickets and shall be reimbursed at the “most economical and direct route” but this must be agreed to beforehand.
- Individual Contractor s will not have supervisory responsibilities or authority on UNICEF budget.
- Individual Contractor will be required to sign the Health statement for Individual Contractor s/Individual contractor prior to taking up the assignment, and to document that they have appropriate health insurance, including Medical Evacuation.
For every child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).
The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…
- Builds & Maintains Partnerships.
- Demonstrates Self-Awareness & Ethical Awareness.
- Drive to Achieve Results for Impact.
- Innovates and Embraces Change.
- Manages Ambiguity and Complexity.
- Thinks and Acts Strategically.
- Works Collaboratively with others-Establish
To view our competency framework, please visit here.
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
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.
For every child, a future!
To apply for this job please visit secure.dc7.pageuppeople.com.