TERMS OF REFERENCE: Stunting Prevention Technical Assistance Phase 3 Project Design and Guideline Development The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. We are currently seeking a Consultant to assist with the development of a stunting prevention initiative, based in our Swaziland Country Office in Mbabane, Swaziland. General Information • Title of Post: Consultant - Nutrition • Supervisor: Programme Officer/Head of Programme • Unit: Programme • Country: Swaziland • Duty Station: Mbabane • Application deadline: 31 March 2015 • Preferred Start Date: ASAP • Duration of assignment: 3 months with option to work remotely for short periods If interested, send a CV and a cover letter to Julia Cocchia: julia.cocchia@wfp.org by 31 March 2015. Background Swaziland is a small and land-locked nation in southern Africa with a population of just over 1 million. The country faces critical development challenges due to high income inequality, poverty levels, food insecurity and the impact of HIV/AIDS. Swaziland has a very high HIV prevalence: 26 percent of adults and 38 percent of pregnant women are living with HIV. The impact of HIV and AIDS has been particularly hard on Swazi children. The Government of Swaziland estimates that around 30 percent of all children are orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC), meaning they have lost at least one of their parents, have a very sick parent, or live in a household where an adult has been very sick or died in the past one year. High prevalence of HIV and AIDS compounded with widespread poverty are likely to be the major contributors to child vulnerability and subsequent undernutrition. Chronic malnutrition is the major nutrition challenge in the country: 31 percent of children under the age of five years are stunted. Stunting has severe social and economic consequences for Swaziland. The Cost of Hunger in Swaziland study (2013) highlighted that Swaziland lost the equivalent of 3.1 percent of the country’s GDP to costs associated with child undernutrition in 2009, and is likely to sustain similar economic losses each year if urgent action is not taken to reduce stunting. Child undernutrition is associated to 8 percent of child mortality in Swaziland, and 69 percent of cases of child undernutrition go untreated. Stunting accounts for 12 percent of grade repetitions, and stunted children achieve 0.8 fewer years of schooling than non-stunted children, limiting children’s capacity to reach their full productivity and potential. Given these results, the Government of Swaziland has incorporated ambitious stunting reduction targets into the Swaziland Development Index and resulting National Development Strategy, launched by the Prime Minister in 2014. The Minister of Health of Swaziland committed to join the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement and the country has completed its first SUN Movement baseline. To further Swaziland’s progress in addressing child undernutrition, WFP Swaziland has committed to build political and technical capacity in the Government of Swaziland to stunting prevention in a high HIV prevalence context. To do so, WFP is assisting the Swaziland National Nutrition Council to undertake formative research into priority interventions for stunting prevention in Swaziland, and to develop a comprehensive initiative and guidelines to support the implementation of these interventions. The project has 3 phases: • Phase 1: Nutrition contextual analysis: Identify factors contributing to stunting through a nutrition contextual analysis focusing on pregnant and lactating women and children 0 – 23 months of age • Phase 2: Program gap analysis: Identify gaps in current stunting prevention programming through stakeholder mapping and prioritize interventions to address stunting prevention in line with WFP’s nutrition policy and national priorities • Phase 3: Project and guideline design: Use Phase 1 & 2 conclusions to develop costed stunting prevention projects and guidelines for implementation.The guidelines will aid Government and partners in planning, implementing and evaluating prioritized stunting prevention programmes as identified by the gap analysis. Phase 1 and 2 were completed in December 2014. Phase 3 builds upon the results of the contextual analysis and gap analysis. Each phase contributes to the overall goal of assisting the Government of Swaziland to accelerate the multi-stakeholder nutrition response through the SUN Movement, in line with national development priorities. The objectives of the consultancy relate to Phase 3. They are to: • Support Government to establish national guidelines to coordinate, resource, implement and evaluate interventions as prioritized in Phases 1 and 2 for Swaziland’s comprehensive stunting prevention programme • Estimate resources needed to implement stunting guideline recommendations • Sensitize stakeholders in Swaziland to actively participate in the SUN Movement and ensure roll-out and adoption of new stunting guidelines • Document and share lessons learned and best practices for developing and scaling-up stunting prevention programmes that are HIV-sensitive. Duties and responsibilities Under the direct supervision of the Head of Programme, and under technical supervision of the Regional Bureau, the Consultant will perform the following responsibilities: • Assist the CO in developing national guidelines to aid Government in planning, costing, implementing and evaluating child undernutrition programme with emphasis on stunting prevention programmes; • Support advocacy and knowledge sharing of best practices and lessons learned nationally (potentially through workshops, stakeholder consultations, and national fora such as the Child Health and Nutrition Network and SUN Movement network), within WFP (with RB, HQ and other country offices) and regionally /internationally (through platforms such as SUN Movement, Inter-Agency Task Teams); • Perform other related duties as required. Deliverables: • National Stunting prevention programme guidelines • Costing of national stunting prevention programme • Advocacy briefs and presentations related to new stunting prevention guidelines • Lessons Learned / Best Practices materials (brief, presentation, etc). to share knowledge about designing stunting prevention programmes Qualifications and experience • Advanced University degree with experience and training/courses in one or more of the following disciplines: Nutrition, Public Health or similar field • Experience costing nutrition strategies strongly desired • Minimum of 8 years post graduate, progressively responsible, job related experience in Nutrition Programmes in International Development or Emergency Operations. Experience in national-level nutrition coordination and international nutrition movements, high-prevalence HIV contexts, developing and evaluating nutrition strategies and guidelines development, and programme design strongly preferred. • Proficiency in Windows, MS Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook) • Excellent writing and communication skills, team player, good analytical skills, ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships in an intercultural environment. Working Languages Working knowledge of English (proficiency/level C) Supervision (Level/Methods of Supervision) The Consultant will be supervised by the Country Office Programme Officer/Head of Programme, and undertake assignments in close collaboration with local Government partners and WFP colleagues at CO and Regional Bureau level. The terms and conditions of this consultancy shall remain as is and shall take effect from the date of signing of the Terms of Reference by the consultant. Any alteration or modification shall be done through a formal request by both parties. National Team members include: Danisile Vilakati, Director, Swaziland National Nutrition Council (snncdirector@gmail.com) Glorious Dlamini, Programme Officer, Swaziland National Nutrition Council (gloriousdlamini@yahoo.com) Margherita Coco, Head of Programme, WFP Swaziland (margherita.coco@wfp.org) Julia Cocchia, Nutrition and HIV Focal Point, WFP Swaziland (julia.cocchia@wfp.org) Information on Living Conditions in Mbabane, Swaziland Swaziland is considered a family duty station by the United Nations and is generally a safe country for travelers and foreigners. Normal precautions against general crime are advised. Living conditions are generally good and shopping outlets are available for all basic necessities. Medical facilities are limited throughout Swaziland as well as emergency medical response capabilities. The Mbabane Clinic in the capital is well-equipped and well-staffed for minor procedures, as is the Manzini Clinic in Matsapha. For advanced care, many foreigners often choose to go to South Africa where better facilities and specialists exist. Most prescription drugs are available locally or can be imported from South Africa.