WASH in Health Care Facilities Minimum Standards, Suva, Fiji, 4 Months

Contract

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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.

In the Pacific we work in Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu: These 14 Pacific island countries are home to 2.3 million people, including 1.2 million children and youth, living on more than 660 islands and atolls stretching across 17.2 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean, an area comparable to the combined size of the United States of America and Canada. Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu are classified as Fragile States according to World Bank/OECD criteria.

All 14 Pacific Island countries and territories have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but only a third are on track with reporting obligations. Explore the different areas of our work in the link provided here www.unicef.org/pacificislands.

How can you make a difference?

Achieving and maintaining water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in health care facilities (HCFs) is critical for realizing several health objectives, including those linked to quality universal health coverage, quality of health care, infection prevention and control, patient safety, and child and maternal health, especially the time around child delivery. The COVID-19 situation has once again highlighted the importance of key WASH services, hand hygiene and the significance of WASH in HCFs, including waste management and environmental cleaning as per global definitions from the World Health Organization (WHO)/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme(JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene.

The Government of Fiji is committed to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’ including in WASH in Health care facilities which increases the commitment Fiji has to achieve. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services is responsible for managing Health Care Facilities in Fiji. One of the challenges that hinders Ministry of Health providing the best services to the people of Fiji is the insufficient data it has on WASH in Health Care Facilities. Good WASH Services in the Health Care Facilities. this will be significant to the commitment made by the country towards SDG.

The importance of proper WASH in Health Care Facilities in Fiji was significant during the COVID 19 pandemic however challenges remain in the in existence of standards for the WASH in Health Care Facilities for the country. The current policies and programmes only cover partial aspects of WASH in Health Care Facilities. The standards and guidelines that will be developed will support existing policy and guideline framework and pick up on the gaps and develop a comprehensive WASH in HCF. A proper standard on WASH in HCF will strengthen consistency in the delivery of WASH services in health care facilities and help on the coordination challenge between stakeholders involved in WASH in HCF.

Linking guidelines to robust monitoring tools will furthermore allow for improved reporting, analysis and benchmarking of progress towards universal coverage of WASH as well as commitment to the annual JMP. Better data will allow for the development of realistic budgets that can be targeted to the area most in need.

Major Stakeholders:

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services will be the lead agency for development of the National Minimum Guidelines for WASH in Healthcare Facilities. The Environmental Health Division will be the main section responsible for all the WASH in HCF work including other relevant entities within the Ministry of Health.

UNICEF has been playing a crucial role in developing WASH related policy, standards and guidelines, to strengthen WASH sector coordination, M&E and information management at national and sub national levels. The department of water and Sewerage is also another entity that can contribute to the compilation of the minimum standards. UNICEF will provide technical assistance/consultancy support in the development of national WinHCF minimum guidelines including consultative workshops and printing.

How can you make a difference?

It is proposed that these Minimum standards on WASH in HCF should offer practical guidance for effective and efficient provision of WASH services in HCFs to improve the overall quality of health care services in Fiji. Specifically, the guidelines are intended to:

Provide basic information on minimum standards and guideline for technical/infrastructure designs and O&M to guide implementation of minimum requirements for sustainable WASH services within healthcare facilities. It is proposed that these minimum requirements will cover the following type of healthcare facilities:

• Hospital -national, divisional and sub-divisional
• Health Centre
• Nursing Station
• Specific areas of focus should include:
• Water supply
• Sanitation
• Hand hygiene
• Healthcare waste management
• Environmental Cleaning
• WASH services in healthcare facilities for maternal & newborn care
• WASH services in healthcare facilities for during emergencies
• Operation and maintenance
• Monitoring, planning, budgeting & financing

Please refer to the TOR for further information on the deliverables and the timelines.

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS

Please submit a separate financial offer along with your application. The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables and should show a break down for the following:

• Monthly / Daily fees– based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference above
• Travel (economy air ticket where applicable to take up assignment and field mission travel
• Living allowance where travel is required
• Miscellaneous- to cover visa, health insurance (including medical evacuation for international consultants), communications, and other costs.

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

• A master's in public health, environmental health, social sciences, Law and Governance or another relevant fields. A will be accepted if relevant professional experience can be demonstrated
• A minimum of 10 years of professional work experience in drafting, editing and finalization guidelines and standards on WASH-related programmes for developing countries is required.
• Familiarity with the WASH institutional arrangements in Health Care Facilities in Fiji, or small island countries connection will be an asset.
• Fluency in English is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here

Remarks:

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

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.

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.

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