Consultant for School Health

BACKGROUND

Investing in the health of the Region’s children and adolescents is a cornerstone of the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region For the Future vision, and its aspirational goal of creating “the healthiest and safest Region.” This necessitates a special focus on school health.

Despite advances in health and the unprecedented social and economic development of recent decades, our children and young people are becoming increasingly unhealthy. In 2019, almost 280,000 people aged 5-29 years, including almost 53,000 children aged 5-14 years, died in the Western Pacific Region – most from preventable causes, such as unintentional injuries (road accidents, falls and drowning) and intentional injuries (suicide). The infectious causes of mortality for this age group are preventable through immunization and sanitation, or curable with antibiotics. Exposure to risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which portend future preventable death and disability, is rising. Other risks to health, including violence, bullying, substance abuse, mental health conditions, gender stereotyping, unsafe environments and the lack of basic sanitation services, directly harm children and adolescents and also have a tremendous impact on their future health. Many of these health risks begin early in life and surface in schools; when the school climate is not designed appropriately, these health risks can be compounded and amplified, with deleterious effects extending into adulthood.

The 72nd Regional Committee of the Western Pacific endorses the Regional Framework on Nurturing the health of our future generations in the Western Pacific which recognised that investing in health and schools offers a strategic opportunity to reverse the upsurge in risk factor exposure and ill health among young people, and schools are potential incubators for creating healthy children and adolescents with resilient futures. This Regional Framework aims to support Member States to achieve the vision of health through the life course by focusing on nurturing healthy children and adolescents, understanding that a healthy childhood and adolescence are the foundation for healthy populations of the future, including as people age.

PURPOSE/SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THE ACTIVITY

Under the direct supervision of the Team Lead of the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases (PND) Unit, Division of Healthy Environments and Populations (DHP), the consultant will provide technical assistance to support the following activities:

• • Supporting Member States in contextualizing the approach outlined in the Regional Framework on Nurturing the health of our future generations in the Western Pacific.
• • Facilitate the formation of a Regional advisory group to advise on the implementation approach of the Regional Framework, with logistical support on meetings and reporting.
• • Collate and mapping success stories from the region and globally on replicable best practices that supports the Objectives outlined in the Regional Framework.
• • Drafting the progress report on the Regional Framework implementation.
• • Other duties to support adolescent and child health in general.

DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES TO BE CARRIED OUT

Output 1: Support the planning and implementation of activities on School Health in Member States.

Activities:

• • Review and analyses of National guidelines on School Health in Member States against the Regional Framework on Nurturing the health of our future generations in the Western Pacific and identify potential areas for revisions.
• • Help arrange the school visits for field assessment, observation, and piloting improvements.
• • Support “try and learn” process by identify challenges and solutions
• • Design of iterative implementation plan of a list of activities
• • Develop recommendations for national guidance on School Health.

Output 2: Gather relevant data and information to inform good practices on nurturing children.

Activities:

• • Leverage regional networks to document good practices and replicable local solutions.
• • Facilitate cross-country sharing of success stories.
• • Desk review of existing data.
• • Preparation of required reports

METHODS TO CARRY OUT THE ACTIVITY

• • Review of literature and resources
• • Meeting (face-to-face and virtual) with relevant units in WHO and other stakeholders
• • Report writing

QUALIFICATIONS

Education: University degree in medicine, public health or in any health-related field from a recognized university

Experience: Minimum of three (3) years of combined national and international experience working in the area of health promotion or school health.

Technical skills and knowledge: Report writing and proficiency in using data analysis software

Languages: Written and spoken fluency in English (Read – Write – Speak / "Expert" level)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• • WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter into practice.
• • WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.
• • Upon conclusion of the contract, intellectual property of the contents and products developed shall revert to WHO.
• • Any data or results collected from the project may not be shared or distributed beyond the project team members without approval of the responsible officer in WHO.

Place of assignment

The contractual partner will be required to be based full-time at WHO WPRO, Manila, Philippines to perform the tasks related to this activity.

Contract duration

12 months starting 1 April 2022

Eligibility

This Expression of Interest is open to individuals only

APPLICATIONS

Qualified and interested contractors should submit their (1) curriculum vitae, (2) expression of interest {cover letter} and (3) proposal, including budget, to the Supply Officer through WP RO UNGM at <wproungm@who.int> by 18 March 2022

The cover letter should outline how their experience and qualifications make them a suitable candidate for this project.

Please use Tender Notice No. 169744 as subject to all submission. Only successful candidates will be contacted.