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Consultancy: Consultancy to support the implementation of the UNICEF-Gates NTD proposal in priority countries
Duty Station: PG-Health Section, Child Health Unit
Duration: 1 February 2026 โ 1 December, 2027
Home/ Office Based: Remote
BACKGROUND
Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:
To support the implementation of the UNICEF-Gates NTD proposal โLeveraging UNICEF's GAVI-funded Immunization and PHC for NTD integrationโ in priority countries.
Background and justification
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are the second highest contributor to disability life-adjusted years (DALYs) attributable to infectious diseases, after HIV/AIDS. They affect already poor communities where they have a lifelong impact, including chronic ill health, stunting, disability and stigma, with particular impact on children and women. NTDs perpetuate poverty by holding back communities from leading more productive lives, including limiting educational attainment.
Significant progress has been made in reducing the global NTD burden, partly as a result of unprecedented collaboration, funding, drug donations, and research and development efforts from commitments made at the London Declaration on NTDs (2012) and the Kigali Declaration on NTDs (2021). For example, within the WHO African Region, the number of people requiring NTD treatment had decreased from 666 million in 2013 to 579 million by December 2022, with 19 countries having eliminated at least one NTD by 2023, among other notable gains. Despite this, NTDs continue to be a heavy burden on the most vulnerable and underserved communities, with an estimated 1 billion people requiring treatment, at least 40% in sub-Saharan Africa.
To progress more quickly toward achieving the 2030 goals, the remaining challenges must be addressed, especially in countries that are furthest behind. They include:
Declining, often earmarked global funding that is contributing to unequal coverage and progress across NTDs and geographic areas. This is compounded by limited oversight of the health funding landscape in countries. Data challenges, including the delayed collection, collation and sharing of treatment and pharmaceutical stock data, and data quality challenges, partly due to the reliance on paper-based entry. Continued verticalization of NTD programming across health system pillars, resulting in redundancies and wastage of resources. Multiple public health campaigns are conducted every year, targeting the same communities. Inadequate cross-campaign coordination and integration frequently result in missed opportunities for the co-delivery of interventions that could address community needs cost-effectively and holistically. Sudden and drastic cuts to official development assistance (ODA) have impacted national NTD programmes, resulting in paused/cancelled priority interventions, including mass drug administration campaigns (MDAs), with a high associated risk of expiry of large quantities of donated medicines, and further throwing them off track for key targets.The UNICEF-Gates NTD project aims to address these challenges and contribute to accelerating progress in priority countries with a high burden of preventive chemotherapy NTDs, including those affected by delayed or cancelled MDAs campaigns where the risk of expiry of donated medicines is high, while upskilling community health workers (CHWs) for appropriate disease management, mapping and implementing integrated campaigns, and enhancing digital health capabilities for improved reporting of integrated campaigns from the community level.
UNICEF collaborates with the NTD Support Center of the Taskforce for Global Health, and its working groups - the Global NTD Supply Chain Forum, and Health Campaign Effectiveness Coalition. UNICEF is an ad hoc participant of the advisory group established to track and mitigate NTD gaps arising from the termination of NTD projects, coordinated by WHO and a member of the International Taskforce for Disease Eradication, coordinated by the Carter Center. UNICEF serves as the secretariat for the recently established Community Health Delivery Partnership, coordinating partner support to facilitate increased access to equitable, essential health services delivered through community-based PHC.
Scope of Work
The specific objectives of this project will be to:
Leverage catalytic investment to raise additional funding for NTD prevention and control Strengthen the capacity to prevent and control NTDs at the community level by mapping, upskilling and equipping CHWs. Enhance digital health capabilities for robust planning and reporting of NTD and other public health campaign data.ย TERMS OF REFERENCE OR WORK ASSIGNMENT:
Purpose: ย Under the leadership of the global NTD technical lead, and in collaboration with relevant country office staff and ministries of health, provide technical expertise to implement the work outlined below in selected high-burden countries.
Objective 1: Leverage catalytic investment to raise additional funding for NTD prevention and control
Conduct a comprehensive analysis of current and projected funding needs for NTD programming in tier 1 and 2 countries and:
Produce tailored advocacy materials aligned with NTD masterplans and sustainability plans and informed by country action plans to mitigate ODA funding cuts. Work with governments to develop or adapt these materials as part of country-led advocacy efforts aimed at mobilizing both external and domestic resources. Collaborate with national NTD programmes, other relevant programmes, and country offices to convene structured dialogues with key stakeholders and disseminate them through at least three (3) high-level platforms to build commitment and secure initial buy-in.Objective 2: Strengthen Capacity to prevent and treat NTDs at the Community Level
Review the national CHW curriculum and training packages in coordination with MoH (community health, health promotion and NTD programmes) and relevant institutions in tier 1 and 2 countries to:
Incorporate priority NTD information, including morbidity management for delivery in all settings (including emergency) into the national curriculum and training materials in line with global and country guidance. Ensure that due process is followed so that updates are formally endorsed and integrated into national community health policies or strategic plans to secure long-term institutionalization and political buy-in. Engage CHWs and/or their supervisors in target areas to ensure their perspectives inform the design, feasibility, and delivery of integrated NTD services. As much as possible, also leverage CHW platforms to ensure frontline voices shape decisions on workforce harmonization, capacity building, and service integration.Ensure that vertical community-based NTD staff are incorporated in the harmonization of CHW cadres to provide a near-accurate reflection of available resources, thereby informing public health decision-making involving the community health workforce, specifically:
Advocate for the harmonization of CHW cadres with a focus on the integration of vertical community-based NTD workers into the broader CHW workforce. Update national geo-reference CHW master lists to include vertical community-based NTD workers and/or mapping of the capacities of existing CHWs to deliver community-based NTD services.In tier 1, 2 and 3 countries, in collaboration with relevant MoH departments, conduct and update the country-level mapping of public health campaigns to identify missed or underserved populations and opportunities for integration with NTD programming, and:ย
Facilitate joint macroplanning and microplanning between NTD, immunization/polio/other teams for co-delivery of MDAs and other public health campaigns, including using the school platform to integrate NTDs into other public health campaigns as much as feasible. Provide to CHWs and campaign teams training, job aids, and integrated delivery tools to implement coordinated outreach (e.g., joint SCH/STH and deworming with vitamin A or measles campaigns Link integrated campaign planning and execution to the Integrated Campaign Registry (ICR) developed under Objective 3 to coordinate timing, geographies, and target groups across sectors. Document lessons learned from the implementation of NTD MDAs integrated with other public health campaigns to inform guidance and scalability.Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:
Work Assignment Overview/Deliverables and Outputs/Delivery deadline
1.Inception work plan covering 24 months, with details of expected outputs including monthly progress reports/updates
-ย Consultant inception work plan covering 24 months (PPT and word versions)
ย 7 Jan 2026ย
2.ย Inception phase: Consultations with global, regional, and national-level partners and governments to identify subnational areas where the project will be focused, to secure buy-in as needed and refine the implementation methodology.
- Project inception report including: (i) mapping and recommendations from country and stakeholder consultations, and (ii) a refined methodology for country support 1 March 2026 ย 3. Objective 1: Conduct a comprehensive analysis of current and projected funding needs for NTD programming in tier 1 and 2 countries. - Investment case and funding gap analysis for tier 1 and 2 countries (4) - Multi-stakeholder resource mobilization events convened in tier 1 and 2 countries (at least 1) 20 June 2026 ย 4. Objective 2: Review of CHW guidance,curriculum, training guides, harmonized mapping and identification of NTD medicines and other commodities to ensure that the selected areas have the right resources to implement the project. - Revised, harmonized curricula and 2 training packages incorporating NTD prevention, early identification, treatment, morbidity management and referral for tier 1 and 2 countries. 31 Jan 2027ย ย 5. Objective 2: Incorporate vertical community-based NTD staff in the harmonization of CHW cadres - Updated CHW master lists inclusive of geo-mapped NTD communitybased staff in tier 1 and 2 countries (1 per country) 31 Jan 2027 ย 6. Objective 2: Conduct and update the country-level mapping of public health campaigns to identify populations that are missed or underserved, as well as opportunities for integration with NTD programming. - Bi-annual updated mapping and report of public health campaigns integrated with NTD MDAs in all priority countries 1 March 2026, 1 August 2026, 30 April 2027, 1 October 2027 - Practical โhow-toโ guidance and tools to support countries in embedding NTD activities within health campaigns, inc. national HMIS, informed by lessons from initial implementing countries First draft:31 October 2026 Final: 1 December 2027 ย 7. Objective 2: Document lessons learned from the implementation of NTD MDAs integrated with other public health campaigns to inform guidance and scalability - Best practices and lessons learned document from implementation of integrated/co-delivered public health and NTD campaigns 1 December 2027ย ย 8. End of contract report with details of all outputs produced, including progress reports. The report should be in both PPT and Word formats. - Summary end of contract PPT and Word reports 1 December 2027 ยQualifications
Education:ย ย Advanced degree in Global/Public Health, or infectious diseases.
Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:
A minimum of 8 years of experience is required in communicable disease control in SSA. Proven knowledge and hands-on experience in the prevention and control of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in high-burden countries in Sub-Saharan Africa Demonstrated ability to engage effectively with technical partners and senior officials within Ministries of Health. Extensive experience working across multiple national public health programmes in lowincome and resource-constrained settings, including providing strategic advice and conducting high-level advocacy with health-sector leadership. Strong listening and analytical skills, with the ability to synthesize complex information into clear, high-quality technical and senior-level communications. A proactive, self-motivated professional with strong diplomatic skills, capable of working both independently and collaboratively in multicultural teams. Excellent technical writing skills, with a proven record of producing high-quality outputs such as technical guidance, policy briefs, and publications. Proficiency in French is considered an assetRequirements:
Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and
- Upload copy of academic credentials
- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :
the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference. travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR. Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable. Indicate your availability- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.
U.S. Visa information:
With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultantโs household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.ย ย
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process
For every Child, you demonstrateโฆ
UNICEFโs core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at:ย Here
UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.ย
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.ย
Remarks:ย ย
Individuals engaged under a consultancy will not be considered โstaff membersโ under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEFโs 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. Consultants 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.ย
The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.ย
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