UNICEF Consultant - Communication for Development specialist – Ebola Preparedness - Kenya Jobs

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is currently facing a new outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease(EVD) which was declared on the 1 August 2018 in the province of North Kivu.

This new outbreak of EVD is affecting north eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which border Uganda and Rwanda.

The ongoing EVD outbreak is not linked to the previous one that occurred in Equateur Province and ended on 24 July 2018.

Potential risk factors for transmission of EVD at national and regional levels include the transport links between the affected areas, the rest of the country, and neighboring countries; the internal displacement of populations; and displacement of Congolese refugees to neighboring countries and a long-term humanitarian crisis.

Additionally, the security situation in North Kivu hinders the effective implementation of response activities. Based on this context, the public health risk is considered high at the national and regional levels.

Following the declaration of the current outbreak in DRC and the significant risk of cross-border spread to neighboring countries, WHO and UNICEF have prioritized 9 countries for EVD preparedness due to their proximity to the outbreak province and capacity to respond.

Seven of the 9 countries are in Eastern and Southern Africa. These include Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Burundi which are categorized as priority one, with Angola, Tanzania and Zambia in the second category.

UNICEF, WHO along with Ministries of Health, and other partners are actively engaged in the EVD contingency planning that aims to ensure alignment of preparedness and readiness actions in the coming months.

UNICEF's Communication for Development role as lead UN agency for risk communication includes supporting the development of strategies and co-chairing national Task Forces for Health promotion/risk communication and community engagement alongside the Ministries of Health to ensure effective coordination.

Justification/purpose of the consultancy

The purpose of the consultancy is to strengthen the capacities of National governments in two select countries (Zambia and Tanzania) neighboring DRC to plan and implement Risk communication and Community engagement preparedness and response interventions for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

The Consultant will support national level planning, coordination and implementation of preparedness activities for Ebola Virus Disease and other aspects of host government preparedness mechanisms related to risk communication and community engagement.

Scope of Work