The Young Child Survival Development and Gender Sections, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office is seeking an individual consultant to undertake an assessment of the regional situation of adolescent health to identify key areas for UNICEF action on Gender-Responsive Adolescent Health (GRAH) in the East Asia and Pacific region, particularly towards targeting marginalized adolescent girls and boys.
Background:
In the new UNICEF Strategic Plan (2017-2021), Gender Responsive Adolescent Health (GRAH) will be identified as one of the key areas of focus. Global and regional consultations are evolving in the organization, as well as among sister UN agencies and partners, to strengthen adolescent health interventions with a gender-responsive approach. The operationalization of the concept “GRAH” however requires careful understanding of the current situation of key adolescent health issues and related gender disparities in health status and outcomes. Adolescence is a transitional period of increased expectations for boys and girls to conform to socially constructed, often stereotypical norms, which maintain gender inequality and encourage behaviours that impact on adolescent boys’ and girls’ well-being and health outcomes. The consultancy requires to operationalize the concept of GRAH within the framework of UNICEF strategies on gender and health, based on the principles of human rights, gender equality and determinants of health.
Further, mapping of existing interventions by various partners in the region is needed to determine the comparative advantage of UNICEF and potential collaboration modalities with partners. In particular, it is critical to identify the situation and priority areas for support to the most marginalized group of adolescent girls and boys towards equity, given that the diversity of adolescent groups and the importance of segmentation approach by group have been advocated in adolescent programming over a decade. In the East Asia and Pacific region, increasing attention is to be paid to influential socioeconomic issues, such as urbanization, migration, and the situation and services to ethnic groups, through which the health and well-being of adolescent girls and boys can be significantly affected. Globally the need of age-and sex-disaggregation (i.e., age 10-14; 15-19) is well recognized, given the increasing concerns about young adolescents age 10-14, the significant gender and other data gap and burdens carried by this age group such as high-risk pregnancy and childbirth.
Adolescent health issues range from road traffic injuries to experiencing violence and abuse; exposure to HPV and sexually transmitted diseases, contracting HIV/AIDs; mental health issues and need for psycho-social support services; the practice of FGM/C; unsafe abortions, adolescent pregnancy and related complications in child birth; and all forms of malnutrition of adolescents. Among various adolescent health topics, adolescent pregnancy appears as one of the major concerns in several countries in the region and globally, as outlined in the regional situational analysis primarily with an educational focus (2014). Besides, prevention of injury (e.g., road accidents), Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and healthy behaviours (e.g., obesity and exercise) are an emerging agenda in the region, because of the high burden by these issues in terms of disability and death caused among the whole population (e.g., assessment using Disability-Adjusted Life Year – DALY) and the outstandingly high proportion of adolescents carrying these burdens. Both gender analysis and an assessment of adolescent health with a gender lens are important to understand and address health issues through gender-responsive intervention strategies and collaborations.
Purpose of the Assignment
To assess the regional situation and priority issues in Gender-Responsive Adolescent Health (GRAH) in the East Asia and Pacific. The focus is placed on the key adolescent health issues in the region, in particular among marginalized adolescent girls and boys, in consideration of the region-specific issues that function as and/or influence key bottlenecks and barriers to the well-being and health outcomes of adolescents. Specific objectives of this assessment include:
1) Assess the situation of the key adolescent health issues in the region with a gender lens: Potential focus topics include but not limited to adolescent pregnancy; contraceptive use; abortion; access to family planning; injury (e.g., road accidents); Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and healthy behaviours (e.g., obesity and physical activities, nutrition status that includes anaemia and other micronutrient deficiencies; substance use (e.g., smoking and alcohol use); mental health, self-harm, suicide, violence, bullying, and female genital mutilation and cutting. A few key adolescent health issues to be identified for this assessment. Also, a few focus countries in the East Asia and Pacific to be identified (e.g., Cambodia). Special attentions to be paid to better understand the situation and challenges among the marginalized adolescent groups who are particularly affected by the selected key health issues, e.g., adolescent girls/boys who are migrants or ‘left-behind-children’; adolescent girls/boys living in urban slums; adolescent girls/boys of ethnic groups; adolescent girls/boys living in remote, rural areas; adolescent girls/boys who identify as LGBTI; adolescent girls/boys with disabilities; adolescent girls/boys living with HIV/AIDS; and others.
Conduct a “gender and health” analysis of the identified key issues and adolescent health trends; agreed upon health indicators and related health and other social service systems issues for delivering adolescent friendly health services.
It is expected that both quantitative and qualitative methods will be applied to develop the situation analysis (e.g., desk review of existing data/stats/reports; Key Informant Interviews/Focus Group Discussions; consultations with UNICEF country offices and partners).
2) Map out the ongoing interventions on the key adolescent health issues in focus countries: Areas of mapping dimension should include relevant policy/national framework; stakeholder analysis (government/development partners/bilateral and multilateral programmes/civil society/community based actors); national and/or sub-national action plans/programmes/project interventions. Gender-responsiveness adolescent health needs to be examined per intervention (e.g., strength/limitation/opportunities) Identify and examine intervention gaps to address key health issues of marginalized adolescent groups. The mapping would involve desk reviews and key informant interviews.
3) Provide recommendations of priority interventions for gender-responsive adolescent health for UNICEF action, based on synthesis of the findings from the situational analysis and mapping: Based on the comprehensive synthesis of the situation and needs of the marginalized adolescents and the intervention gaps identified by this
assessment, develop a methodology/criteria to prioritize areas for UNICEF action. Consider UNICEF’s comparative advantage (relative to other sister UN agencies/partners) for the prioritization. Specific recommendations should be outlined for the UNICEF regional office and concerned UNICEF country offices regarding “Gender-Responsive Adolescent Health” programming in the region. Areas of recommendations should cover: policy/programme interventions and strategies for UNICEF; coordination/partnership modality in the government system and among partners.
Work Assignment, Work Schedule and Expected Deliverables:
Under the supervision of the Regional Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Specialist in collaboration with the Regional Health Advisor and Regional Gender Advisor, the consultant will perform the following tasks:
Task 1
Main Tasks: Inception - Desk/Document Review and Work planning
Task Detail: Develop an inception report with detailed work plan, methodology for collecting, consolidating and analyzing data/information
Deliverables: An inception Report
When: 6 working days
Task 2
Main Tasks: Collection and review of the reports
Task Detail:
- Identification and review of reports/statistics for quantitative assessment
- Identification and review of policy and programme documents in focus countries.
Deliverables:
- Consolidated and organized quantitative data/information in a shared folder
- Organization of the policy and programme documents in a shared folder
When: 3 working days
Task 3
Main Tasks: Collection of data in selected priority countries
Task Detail: Conduct data collection for the selected adolescent health topics and equity and gender determinants in priority countries (to be identified) including qualitative data (e.g., focus group discussions, interviews).
Deliverables: Country mission reports
When: 15 working days
Task 4
Main Tasks: Analysis and report drafting
Task Detail:
- Analyze data, synthesize and interpret findings on the key adolescent health trends and status from a gender perspective
- Review and analyze the ongoing interventions of adolescent health and assess gender-responsiveness of interventions
- Draft a report
Deliverables: A draft report
When: 17 days
Task 5
Main Tasks: Final reporting
Task Detail: Finalize the report
Deliverables: A final report of the assessment
When: 7 working days
Task 6
Main Tasks: Presentation & Reporting
Task Detail:
- Develop a power point presentation as a summary of the final report above
- Make a presentation at a meeting
Deliverables: Power point presentation (around 20-25 slides)
When: 2 working days
Estimated Duration of Contract: 50 working days between December 2016 and March 2017
Official Travel: Consultant will work from remote, with three to four official field trips for field assessment in the focus countries.
Qualifications of Successful Candidate
- Master’s degree in Public Health, Public Policy, Social Science, Sociology, Gender Studies and other related field;
- At least 8 years of work experience relevant to the assignment;
- Specialist knowledge, skills and substantive experience with assessment and research in the field of adolescent health and gender;
- Experience in policy and programming in the area of health with a focus on adolescent health and gender-responsiveness as well as experience in gender equality policy and programming in the area of adolescent health;
- Experience of working with UNICEF, sister UN agencies and other partners; prior working experience with UNICEF is an asset;
- Good knowledge of the political, economic and social contexts of the East Asia and Pacific Region would be an asset;
- Good verbal and written communication abilities and editorial skills in English; and
- Ability in working independently and experience in being directly accountable to senior level decision-makers.
Application process: Interested applicants are requested to submit Application Package and Expression of Interest by 10 November 2016 to http://jobs.unicef.org/cw/en-us/job/499907?lApplicationSubSourceID detailing:
- Qualification and technical capacity (CV/P-11)
- Sample(s) of relevant work/reports (i.e., adolescent health assessment with a gender lens)
- A detailed work plan (outlining milestones with timeframe) including a proposed methodology
- Financial proposal: Daily professional fee in USD. The consultant is requested to also submit a travel cost proposal once the country list is finalized. Please note the air tickets under UNICEF contract shall be re-routable, refundable type (economy class and most direct route). The consultant will be responsible for own travel insurance, visa fee and terminal expenses.
----------------- Only short listed candidates will be notified. -----------------
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