Technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan (MoHMI) in development of training package for nutrition counselling of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women .

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, health and nutrition.

The nutritional status of a woman before and during pregnancy plays a vital role in fatal growth and development. Turkmenistan’s progress towards global nutrition targets is slow and requires special attention and targeted interventions of the Government and UNICEF. In 2012, anaemia prevalence in the country was 53 % among pregnant women and 57 % among non-pregnant women of reproductive age. Anaemia’s serious negative consequences include poor pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight and premature birth. 3 % of infants are estimated to weigh less than 2,500 grams at birth (MICS, 2015). Low birth weight stems primarily from the mother’s poor health and nutrition. Three factors have most impact: mother’s poor nutritional status before conception, short stature (due mostly to under nutrition and infections during her childhood), and poor nutrition during pregnancy.

Adolescents are vulnerable to malnutrition because they are growing faster than at any time after the first year of life. During adolescence, a growth spurt increases the need for calories, protein, calcium, and iron, and the need for iron increases during menstruation.  Pregnant adolescents who are underweight or stunted are likely to have complications during pregnancy and delivery, as well as low birth weight infants, perpetuating the intergenerational cycle of undernutrition.

Following Evaluation of the National Nutrition Programme for 2013-2017, the Government with UNICEF support plans to accelerate nutrition-specific interventions targeted at maternal nutrition in the preconception stages and during pregnancy.  The promotion of optimal maternal nutrition during pregnancy is one of the recommendations that informed the development of the new National Nutrition Programme for 2018- 2025. Enhancing the quality of nutrition counselling and promoting the knowledge of girls and women at service providers and community level are essential elements for improving the awareness of appropriate nutrition for prevention of anaemia.

Antenatal care coverage in Turkmenistan is 96% (MICS, 2015). Iron and folic acid supplementation and counselling on nutrition during pregnancy are almost an integral component of antenatal care services (ANC), but it is still important to address issues that affect compliance with supplements and practice dietary diversification. A critical component of effective ANC services is the provision of counselling to provide women with proper knowledge and psychosocial support to improve their health behaviours and attitudes.  Having access to appropriate communication and support is a key element of a quality ANC service and effective communication strategies are vital for improving the acceptability of, and adherence to, supplementation schemes. By providing appropriate information and support, ANC services can make ‘every contact count’ to support behaviour change, around reducing negative and harmful lifestyle behaviours, as well as increasing protective measures such as improved nutrition and physical activity.

Technical support to the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry is required in development of a client-centred counselling training module for better integration of a set of priority nutrition interventions into the ANC and equipping health care providers and community volunteers with knowledge, techniques, and skills to assess clients’ nutrition status and provide counselling and appropriate support on nutrition actions.

How can you make a difference?

Specific tasks:

Develop and test training toolkit with training session modules, job aids, and social and behaviour change communication materials to help ANC frontline workers to improve nutrition counselling during ANC, including home visitors and educators The training package should be instituted within a framework of quality services that promotes empowerment and engagement of women and families in their care.

The manual will include guidelines for communicating nutrition messages, key messages for each nutrition topic (e.g. basic nutrition, balanced diet, malnutrition, maternal nutrition, iron and folic acid supplementation,  BF/IYCF, etc), linked nutrition technical information/job aids for medical workers, simple participatory activities that facilitators can conduct with their participants and educators-volunteers in their communities (outlined step-by step scenarios).

 

1.       In collaboration with the national expert team conduct desk review of available past research or analysis of the socio-cultural and economic factors, determining existing nutrition related behaviours, both positive and negative, among pregnant adolescent girls pregnant and lactating women as well as the barriers and gaps to adopting positive nutrition practices and micronutrient supplementation:  

2.       In consultation with the national group of experts develop training packages for health workers and volunteers accordingly, with references to the relevant job aids, covering key nutrition interventions,  definitions of nutrition education and nutrition counselling, ethical principles for counselling, explanation of interpersonal communication aspects, effective optimal counselling, client centred care nutrition, focus of nutrition counselling for pregnant adolescents, pregnant and lactating women, including adherence to iron supplementation and counselling on safe water, sanitation, and hygiene linked to the nutrition outcomes:

2.1. Guide on interpersonal communication for counselling capturing the difference between advocacy, education, and counselling, importance of feedback in the communication process, skills required for effective interpersonal communication,   attitudes, feelings, and values and assess the significance and impact of these on the counselling process, the importance of respect in the counselling, counteract common rumours and misconceptions about nutrition or supplementation, identify forms of verbal and nonverbal behaviour used in communicating and counselling, common barriers and mistakes in communication.

2.2. Facilitators guide with handouts

2.3. Participant manual  

2.4. Presentation slides

3.  Conduct online presentation of training module to national group of MOHMI, TSMU, MCH and CSOs (NRCS and Women’s Union) and finalize training packages based on the feedback.

4.  Finalize the packages and train at least 15 trainers in nutrition counselling to enable further scaling up of capacity building program and strengthen ANC.

5.  Prepare final report with the guide on interpersonal communication for counselling, final version of the training package and recommendations for scaling -up.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Advanced University Degree in public health, behavioral studies on nutrition, C4D or related field;
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in the one of above areas area and nutrition with focus on behaviour change communication, in particular;
• Experience in developing training materials and facilitation skills;
• Demonstrated experience in the Europe and Central Asia region a strong asset;
• Proven knowledge of United Nations human and child rights standards, UNICEF’s values and ethical standards; Cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Excellent command of English, both oral and written; working command of Russian or Turkmen is a strong asset.

Application procedures

The submissions should contain two separate proposals:  Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal.  Interested institutions are kindly requested to apply and upload the required documents accordingly. The deadline for applications is 18/07/2021.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Please review the attached TOR for the details: 

 2021-07-01 TOR_ANC_Nutrition Councelling_posted Ext.docx

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.