Family Health House Strategy – (FHH) Consultant

The Position:

UNFPA Afghanistan is seeking a consultant to develop a Family Health Houses Strategy Document. The consultancy will primarily be home-based

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

About the Family Health Houses
The UNFPA’s Family Health House (FHH), or in the local language called Ashiana-e-Sehi, is a community-based health facility established in areas that lie at least 10 kilometers or at least 3 hours walk from the nearest BPHS facility. It serves a population of 1,500–3,000 people and is staffed by a community midwife. The UNFPA’s FHH Initiative that was started in 2009, aims to:
To increase access (economic, physical and social) to essential RMNCAH services and their utilization by communities living in targeted remote areas.
To improve quality of health services through training and building the capacity of community midwives, community health workers (CHWs) at health posts, community groups (Community Health Shuras), Family Health Action Groups (FHAGs), and through capacity-building and management of project staff; and
To establish a functional referral system by establishing linkages between community based FHH and higher-level health facilities.

The UNFPA’s FHHs are critical in providing primary care level access to the community in the so-called “white areas” or areas that do not have health facilities available at less than three hours walking distance.

Since the Taliban took over the country in August 2021, followed by the collapse of the country’s health system, the UNFPA’s FHHs became prominent as a center for the community to cess essential RMNCAH services. Since then, the FHHs have been increased from 172 to 326 by March 2022.

You be responsible for:

The consultant will develop a FHH Strategy Document that entails the future direction of the FHH initiative so that it transforms, inspires and delivers high-impact and sustained results covering the period of June 2023 to May 2025

The Strategy Document will answer the following aspects [with scenarios]:

How to sustain and maintain the existing FHHs so that the quality as well as the services are being ensured?
How to integrate other essential services, including activities for adolescents and youth, into the existing FHH concept.
How to expand the FHH facilities so that they are able to reach more hard-to reach/white areas?

The Strategy document will entitle enabling factors [facilitators and barriers], costing and within the boundaries of 2 years period - [June 2023-May 2025]

The consultant is expected to work remotely to develop the FHH Strategy document.

Qualifications and Experience:

Education:

Advanced University degree (Minimum Master’s degree master’s degree in public health, midwifery or medicine).

Knowledge and experience:

At least 5 years of documentation and development of key strategic documents in midwifery, maternal reproductive health, particularly in developing countries and humanitarian contexts is preferable.
Technical expertise in Family Health Houses or similar innovation programme is an advantage.
Good understanding of UNFPA mandate with familiarity of UNFPA policies and processes will be an advantage
Excellent analytical skills, process management skills, data management and facilitation
Excellent communication skills (written, spoken) in English
Good communication skills (written, spoken) in languages spoken in the countries covered is desirable
Demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with persons of different backgrounds in a multicultural environment
Experience working remotely across program sites to achieve stakeholder participation and consensus
Experience working in Afghanistan is an advantage

Core Competencies:

Integrity, commitment, cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity
Developing people, coaching and mentoring
Building and managing relationships
Personal leadership and effectiveness

Functional Competencies:
Business acumen
Implementing management systems
Innovation and marketing of new approaches
Client orientation
Organizational awareness
Strategic alignment of human resource practices
Promoting organizational change and development
Impact and influence
Job knowledge/technical expertise