Short-term Consultancy (STC) – To provide technical assistance to ongoing activities of Member States on the Social Determinants of Health and Violence, Injury and Prevention

Short-term Consultancy (STC)  – To provide technical assistance to ongoing activities of Member States on the Social Determinants of Health and Violence, Injury and Prevention with a focus on governance for equity, gender mainstreaming and health beyond the health sector.

BACKGROUND

The Western Pacific Regional is dynamic and has a rich social, cultural, economic and demographic diversity. The Western Pacific Regional Office is one of the six regions of the World Health Organization with more than one quarter of the world’s population. It extends geographically from the Mongolian steppes in central Asia, east to the Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific Ocean and south to New Zealand. It includes large countries such as China with 1.4 billion people and small countries such as Niue, occupied by just 1000 people. It is one of the most diverse of all the World Health Organization regions.

The Regional WHO office of the Western Pacific has made it a priority to work with countries and key partners to identify the regional priorities, which are documented in the For the Future Paper, namely Ageing and NCDs, Climate change, Health security including AMR and Reaching the unreached. In addition to the thematic priorities, the new strategic vision calls for us to be innovative in our way of working, that we apply a grounds-up approach, and that we champion health beyond the health sector, among other operational shifts. Through this, we can strengthen our efforts to address the social and commercial determinants of health. In particular, the strategic vision emphasizes the need to use a gender and equity lens to ensure that everyone benefits equally from regional progress towards better health. In order to make the Western Pacific the healthiest and safest region, WHO will support countries in the Region to curb the surge of NCDs through leveraging cross-sectoral opportunities for reducing avoidable risks, with a focus on regulation and tax increases for tobacco products, alcohol and unhealthy food, and stimulating healthy physical and social environments. In response to the priorities of the Western Pacific Region, WPRO has established a unit on the Social Determinants of Health and Violence & Injury Prevention (SDH/VIP). The work of the unit includes the social and commercial determinants of health, including alcohol, as well as violence and injury prevention, including road safety.

The objective of this consultancy is to support technical work and related activities of the SDH/VIP team with a focus on gender, and the social determinants of health in the Western Pacific Region.

PURPOSE/SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THE ACTIVITY

The work will support ongoing activities of Member States on the Social Determinants of Health and Violence, Injury and Prevention with a focus on governance for equity, gender mainstreaming and health beyond the health sector.

WORK TO BE PERFORMED

The work will involve background research, policy and programme support as well as qualitative and quantitative analysis. It will require contribution to development of documents, reports and forum materials, event preparation, and project management, including coordination and consultation with relevant WHO country offices, other partners and other technical units in the Regional Office when appropriate.

Output/s

Output 1: Support technical collaboration and related activities of the SDH/VIP team with a focus on gender and equity and addressing other determinants in health including migration in the Western Pacific Region.

Deliverable 1.1: Support technical collaborations and strengthening of attention to gender and equity in health programmes and services, with particular emphasis on institutionalizing a gender and equity lens across the organization. This includes, but is not limited to:

• • Support with the review of practices and actions to support the Regional Office with successfully institutionalizing a gender lens across all areas of work
• • Support staff and Member States build in-house knowledge on gender and equity by facilitating strategic conversations with different units and divisions across WPRO on institutionalizing a gender lens across all areas of work
• • Support finalization, design and publication of SDH/VIP publications on gender, equity and social determinants including:
  • Panorama on COVID-19 and Groups Living in Vulnerable Situations, a report featuring different vulnerable groups affected by COVID-19 and good practices taken by Member States 
  • Guidance Note: Becoming a healthier and safer region by integrating a gender and equity lens into everything we do.
• • Backstopping preparations for Regional GER Network meetings and country policy dialogues on gender, equity, and the social determinants of health (countries and dates tbc).

Deliverable 1.2: In close collaboration with DSI, support Member States on work related to health futures strategic dialogues and the social determinants of health, including, but not limited to:

• • Support country consultations/deep dives to explore the impacts of the social determinants of health on health and drivers of inequities and implications on future health trends

Deliverable 1.3: Support generating new evidence on the social determinants to address barriers and facilitating factors to advance health equity. 

• • Support with the development of the World Report on the Health of Refugees and Migrants and subsequent regional report on Promoting the Health and Wellbeing of Migrants and Refugees in the Western Pacific Region, in line with WPRO’s For the Future vision paper and five-year strategy.
• • Support with technical collaborations to increase attention to men’s and boy’s health
• • Supporting with implementation of regional and county-level activities as part of the Special Initiative on the Social Determinants of Health
  • Support with the ongoing planning and brainstorming of activities with technical units/divisions across WPRO for World Health Day year-long campaign
  • Provide country support for the region’s two pathfinding countries, including the:
    • • Facilitation of dialogue forums to select and prioritize vulnerable groups for the Initiative
    • • Implementation of scoping reviews/mapping for the development of national panoramas on COVID-19 among groups living in vulnerable conditions and facilitation of
  • Support the development of a 2021 regional profile providing a baseline of initiative’s indicators
  • Support with the documentation of good practices and lessons learned on countries' strengthening of monitoring and measuring COVID-19 among vulnerable groups

Deliverable 1.4: Support with activities related to multi-sectoral prevention and response efforts to addressing violence against women and children in the region.

• • Planning and implementation of a virtual series of capacity building sessions for health managers to prevent and respond to VAWG in select countries in the Region
• • Planning and implementation of activities to increase awareness and action on addressing VAW:
  • Launch of Prevalence estimates on VAW in the Pacific Islands 
  • Campaign to support the 16 days of activism against GBV as part of WPRO’s year-long World Health Day campaign
• • Support the Technical Officer on Violence and Injury Prevention and Consultant with planning and execution of the Regional Conference Towards the Implementation of INSPIRE: Seven strategies for Ending Violence Against Children

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education      

Candidates must possess at least a Master’s Degree in Public Health, or a Master’s Degree in a related field such as Social Work.Additional education is an asset.

Experience

This is a junior consultancy position at the P.3 level. At least 5 years of professional experience is expected, preferably at the international level. Experience working with WHO (including internships, short-term consultancies and/or staff contracts) is essential.

Skills / Technical skills and knowledge

• Knowledge of the WHO Western Pacific Region is desirable.
• Knowledge of cross-cutting issues in public health, including, gender, equity, the social determinants, and community engagement strategies is essential.
• Familiarity with the goals and procedures of international organizations (UN system, donors, nongovernmental organizations). 
• Proficiency in standard MS Office applications and skills in database, spreadsheet and statistical programmes is expected.

Language

Excellent knowledge of spoken and written English is essential. Working knowledge of other UN languages is an advantage.

Competencies

• • Producing results - Produces and delivers quality results. Is action oriented and committed to achieving outcomes.
• • Moving forward in a changing environment - Is open to and proposes new approaches and ideas. Adapts and responds positively to change.
• • Fostering integration and teamwork - Develops and promotes effective relationships with colleagues and team members. Deals constructively with conflicts.
• • Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Place of assignment

The Consultant will initial work remotely. Through video conferencing or other technologies, the Contractor will actively participate in SDH team regular meeting and important meetings with WPRO staff and/or partners as assigned by Dr Kira Fortune, Coordinator/SDH.

The consultant might later work onsite at the Western Pacific Region Office in Manila, Philippines.   

Contract duration

6 months starting 1 Sep 2021

APPLICATIONS

Qualified and interested specialists (individual contractor) should submit their CV and Expression of Interest {cover letter} to the Supply Officer through WP RO UNGM at < wproungm@who.int > by 7 August 2021. 

Please use Tender Notice No. 135446 as subject to all submission. Only successful candidates will be contacted.