Individual National Consultant -EMTCT technical support to the Ministry of Health, Gaborone, Botswana, 115 days spread over 6 months (Remote)

Botswana Country office is looking for a consultant that will provide technical and programme implementation support to the Ministry of Health efforts to maintain the silver-tier certification for EMTCT and aim to comply with the requirements to be certified golden tier.

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, Health

How can you make a difference? 

BACKGROUND

In 2021, Botswana became the first country with a generalized HIV epidemic that was certified the silver tier towards the Path to elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, following a rigorous validation approach according to WHO guidance. The Silver Tier is awarded when countries achieve 90% of antenatal care coverage (at least one visit), 90% of HIV testing coverage among pregnant women, 90% antiretroviral treatment coverage among pregnant women living with HIV, and a case rate of new pediatric HIV infections due to mother-to-child transmission of less than 500 cases per 100,000 live births. In 2024, Botswana will be due for undertaking a validation of status on maintaining the silver-tier certification, or better, which is dependent on Botswana’s compliance with a series of recommendations.

As Botswana responds to these recommendations and continues to make efforts to maintain the silver-tier and achieve the golden tier certification for EMTCT and be certified and awarded status by the World Health Organization, efforts must be doubled to ensure that the progress made is not lost and that programme efficiencies are enhanced, with improved tangible outputs.
To this purpose, this consultancy will focus on supporting the Ministry of Health in providing technical supervision and mentorship to site-level human resources working on EMTCT and supporting the coordination of the EMTCT programme as it prepares for the 2024 re-evaluation of the silver tier.

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Under the supervision of the Chief Adolescent Development, the consultant will provide technical and programme implementation support to the Ministry of Health efforts to maintain the silver-tier certification for EMTCT and aim to comply with the requirements to be certified golden tier.

SCOPE OF WORK

1. Objectives

The objectives of the consultancy are to:

• Provide support to the coordination of the PMTCT programme at the MoH.
• Identify bottlenecks, efficiencies, potential risks, and opportunities in the implementation of the PMTCT programme and advise MoH technical teams accordingly.
• Undertake programme quality assurance of service delivery.
• Provide technical support to the strengthening of the PMTCT data collection, analysis, and dissemination efforts.

2. Activities and tasks

The consultant will be tasked with the following activities:
 Provide support to the coordination of the PMTCT programme at the MoH.
 Identify bottlenecks, efficiencies, potential risks, and opportunities in the implementation of the PMTCT programme and advise MoH technical teams accordingly.

 Undertake programme quality assurance of service delivery.
 Provide technical support to the strengthening of the PMTCT data collection, analysis, and dissemination efforts.

3. Outputs and deliverables

The consultancy’s deliverables are:
 Workplan – delivered by 16 February 2024
 Monthly PMTCT trainings, technical updates, mentorship, and supervision visits – delivered monthly on the last day of February, March, April, May, June, and July 2024
 TWG meetings convened and documented
 Six monthly reports of activities – delivered monthly on the last day of February, March, April, May, June, and July 2024
 Final consultancy report – delivered by 32 July 2024

4. Schedule of activities: consultancy will be for 115 days spread over 6 months.

5. Working relationships

The consultant will report to the UNICEF Chief Adolescent Development, and a committee composed by UNICEF, WHO, CDC, and the HIV Department at the Ministry of Health.

Tasks	Deliverable/output	Timeline/deadline
Workplan	Workplan	February 2024
Support PMTCT program strategies (Information Education and Communication, Routine HIV testing including Early Infant Diagnosis, infant feeding, and data management)	Support EMTCT teams at national and district levels to strengthen cohort monitoring and reporting to enhance performance at the district level.	February, March, April, May, June, and July 2024
	Monthly trainings and technical update for priority districts
	Support the convening and facilitation of Technical Working Group / partner engagement meetings.
Data quality assurance (documentations, data verification & audits, and timely reporting)	Monthly mentorship provided, and supervision schedule fulfilled for 5 priority districts, and related reports delivered to MoH EMTCT team and UNICEF
Final consultancy report	Final consultancy report developed and delivered to UNICEF and MoH.	31 July 2024

 

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

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

☒ Bachelors Degree

Enter disciplines:

Education certificate higher than, or at the level of a diploma in general nursing and/or midwifery or related fields.

Relevant work experience required (in years):

At least 7 years of professional experience at the national level in the HIV response and programming, with a focus on PMTCT, sexual and reproductive health and rights, maternal and child health, and/or strategic information on health.

Specialized skills and/or training if needed:

Desirable: degree or specialized training in PMTCT, infant feeding, cohort monitoring and reporting, and/or nurse prescribing and dispensing.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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:  

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.