International consultant to provide technical assistance to MOH on the review and finalization of sanitary rules and norms, 20 w/d, Dushanbe, Tajikistan

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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, Access to safe water, adequate sanitation and suitable hygiene

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy, and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias, or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. Therefore, the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

According to the WASH Joint Sector Review (2022) led by MoH and supported by UNICEF, only 0.67% of the national GDP (54.5 million USD) is allocated annually to the Water supply and Sanitation sector whereas the required investment is 213 million USD (4 times the existing allocation) to meet SDGs. This allocation is 72% for urban and 28% for rural areas. In terms of overall spending, 80% goes for water supply and 20 % for sanitation. Negligible and difficult to track spending on hygiene. Additionally, Tajikistan is also facing difficulties with full cost recovery of the water supply and sanitation services which is currently at 25% of the total. (75% Deficit). The state-owned service provider are under huge debt already and are struggling to meet quality standards.

Key WASH indicators for Tajikistan remains less than optimal. Tajikistan is a member of the High-Level Panel on Water launched by the World Bank and the United Nations and has announced its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-6) to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. Tajikistan also committed to achievement of the SDGs and recognized the access to WASH in schools and health facilities as important favorable conditions for sustainable development in its National Development Strategy 2030, National Water Sector Strategy (2020 – 2030) and Water and Sanitation Plans and National Programme for Children that are in the process of development and endorsement.

According to WHO-UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) 2017 report, only 47.9% of people nationally in Tajikistan have access to safely managed drinking water services (improved source located at premises, available when needed, and free from microbiological and priority chemical contamination). Similarly, at national level, access to drinking water has improved from 51.2 (2001) to 81 percent (2017). For urban setting figures vary between 87 (safely managed water) to 96.2 percent (improved/basic water), with periodical upward and downward trends. Same sources report figures varying between 36 (safely managed water) and 75.6 percent (improved/basic water) for rural settlements.

There is significant gap of access to WASH in HCFs. Referring to the WHO-UNICEF JMP data available for 2020, only 24.1% of the HCFs have basic access to drinking water supply. The data is missing on access to sanitation, hygiene, waste management and cleaning environment. According to UNCEF Tajikistan, as of 2020, out of 73 maternities / maternity departments within Central District Hospitals (CDHs – secondary level HCFs), 47 facilities (65%) do not meet the required WASH standards. Most challenging situation with access to WASH is in 3,500 rural medical centers (primary health care level). Up to 80% of these facilities have limited or no access to WASH services. Consumables that are key to effective IPC such as soap, hand sanitizers and chlorine are not always available.

There has been a substantial reduction in the under-five mortality rate (U5MR), (from 107 in 1990 to 33 per 1,000 live births in 2017, and infant mortality rate (IMR) from 84 in 1990 to 27 per 1,000 live births in 2017), but children under five years of age continue to die from preventable causes. Ministry of Health and Social Protection (MoHSP) statistics state that in 2016 around 77% of deaths of children under five years of age occurred among children younger than twelve months, and 87% of neonatal death occurred during the first week of life. Many of these deaths are attributable to causes related to poor Quality of Care (QoC) and Health Care Associated Infections (HCAI) that remain largely under-reported, resulting from an unsafe environment including inadequate WASH at HCFs.

On the other hand according to the JMP data available for WASH in schools indicate that 79% of schools across the country have access to a functioning water supply system, 47% of schools have access to improved sanitation and only 26% of schools have water and soap available in designated handwashing areas near toilets. This means that 21% (~ 815 schools = 427,875 children) of schools still do not have access to safe water supply, 53% (2,060 schools = 1,081,500 children) of schools lack access to improved sanitation services and 74% (2,875 schools = 1,509,375 children) of schools do not operate handwashing facilities and no soap near toilets. Large disparities exist in terms of pre-school institutions as well. 48% of urban pre-school institutions have permanent centralized cold water supply against 17% of rural pre-school institutions. A functioning central sewerage system is available only in 7% of kindergartens and early childhood development centers located in rural areas, and in 41% of kindergartens/early childhood development centers in cities.

Recently a National Drinking Water Safety Strategic Plan was developed by MoHSP with support of UNICEF that aims to reduce the likelihood of contamination of water from the catchment area to point of consumption. It identifies and works to eradicate any potential risks of contamination (chemical, biological, physical or other) that may occur at any point within the system, through risk management and continuous monitoring of remedial measures to the entire water supply system. The WSP approach is cost effective, flexible and can be adapted to all types and sizes of water supply systems and settings to ensure continuous supply of safe drinking water. In general, risks to water contamination are identified and prioritized, and improvement plans developed by the community to improve the water safety using available resources. Properly executed WSPs provide assurance that the water from a water supply system is free from contamination. Thus, WSPs contribute to the realization of SDG 6 targets.

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population of Tajikistan has requested UNICEF to support in terms of development and review of;

• Hygienic requirements for the protection of groundwater from pollution and Guidelines for the implementation and application of sanitary rules and norms SanPiN 2.1.4.004-07 “Drinking water”
• Hygienic requirements for the quality of water from centralized drinking water supply systems “Quality control"

How can you make a difference?

Under the overall oversight of the Chief, Child Survival, and direct supervision of the WASH Specialist (international Professional), the Consultant will provide technical guidance and support to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and more specifically to the Sanitary Epidemiological and Surveillance (SES) Department on the development on the review and finalization of sanitary rules and norms (SanPiNs) specified above. The consultant is also expected to coordinate with other relevant ministries that has key roles on service provision, policy, and regulation.

Review of sanitary rules and norms and guidelines will improve existing standards on water quality surveillance both at the level of the MoHSP and service provider. It will also strengthen regulation of water quality based on the sources.

DUTY STATION/DURATION:

Estimated duration**: 20 days (applicable between Sep – Dec, 2022)

Duty station**: Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Off-site working days: 20 (remote-home-based)

Supervisor: WASH Specialist (IP), UNICEF Tajikistan

Reporting to**: WASH Specialist (IP), UNICEF Tajikistan

DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

1. Conduct meetings with the MoHSP, other ministries and the technical working group (TWG) formed by the order of the health minister, to set working procedure, schedule, processes and steps. Develop inception report on the process of strategy development. The inception plan shall spell out the overall process, methodology, detailed outlines of the framework including sub-sections, work plan amongst other.
2. Work closely with the two National experts working on the development/review of the sanitary rules and norms (SanPiNs) pertaining to water quality based on sources and the TWG established.
3. Provide expert feedback after a detailed review of the documents developed in line with National and International standards. This also includes relevance to the National Strategic Plan on Drinking water Safety that is recently developed and approved by MoHSP.
4. Submission of the final version of the sanitary rules and norms (SanPiNs) pertaining to ground water and centralized water sources.

Deliverable****(s)

(Specify final outputs.)

Work Schedule

Payment Schedule

1. Inception meeting with UNICEF and MOHSP to develop clear understanding of the assignment and tasks with sequence
2. Inception report covering outline, methodology and process to be followed for the development

02 days

100% payment upon completion and final submission (and acceptance)

3. Review of existing sanitary rules and norms available on water use from groundwater and other centralized (surface water) sources and provide feedback in compliance with WHO standards

3 days

4. Closely work with the two Experts from the MoHSP and the TWG on guideline and SanPiNs development and conduct final review with detailed feedback submitted to UNICEF and MoHSP

13 days ( face to face)

5. Final Submission of the two SanPiN Documents

02 days

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/output is incomplete, not delivered, or for failure to meet deadlines.

Due to COVID19, the work and deliverables are subject to change. Consultancy company need to be flexible to adjust to any unforeseen adjustments that might occur during the implementation.

Upon completion of the deliverables, all documents specified in the deliverables shall be developed and submitted to the UNICEF in soft copy:

Performance indicators for the evaluation of results

The evaluation of the results will be based on:

1. Technical and professional competence (quality of the products delivered to UNICEF);
2. Scope of work (Including methodology)
3. Quality of work (quality of documents submitted);
4. Quantity of work (completing the tasks indicated in the table above within the set timeframe)

In addition, such indicators as work relations, responsibility, drive for results, and communication will be taken into account during the evaluation of the Consultant’s work.

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

• Education: A university water quality, public health, Water resource management, Engineering or other relevant field of study. Relevant experience could be used in lieu of relevant degree.
• Work Experience: At least 5 years of proven experience in similar work specifically on water quality and safety in terms of development of guidelines, writing strategic documents and development of standards. Additionally, in technical report writing and development of concise reports of workshop, meetings, discussion/consultation sessions in English (Russian and Tajik Preferable), for WASH sector. Past work experience with UN, especially UNICEF Tajikistan is advantageous
• Technical Knowledge: Strong knowledge of global standards and guidelines on water quality is required.
• Competencies: Strong coordination skills, analytical and conceptual thinking. Ability to work with large teams and guide policy discussions. Excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills with stakeholders. Ability to work under pressure and commitment to work to tight timeframe.

• Language: Excellent working knowledge and communication in English is required. Knowledge of Tajik and Russian is an asset and preferable

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:

1. Cover letter/application/CV.
2. A technical proposal with proposed approach to managing the consultancy deliverables, showing understanding of tasks.
3. Financial quote for the consultancy in USD per deliverable, stating also the timeframe for completion of deliverable and/or daily rate in dollars.
4. Examples of previous, relevant work related to the deliverables.
5. Applications a without financial quote will not be considered.

Applications must be received in the system by 18 September 2022 on our website.

Queries can be sent to dushanbe@unicef.org with the subject line “International consultancy to provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population (MoHSPP) of Tajikistan on the review and finalization of sanitary rules and norms (SanPiNs)”.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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 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.

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.

Remarks:

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.

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.