Senior consultant for climate risk and vulnerability assessment and development of a strategy and action plan for climate resilient health sector in Rwanda, Kigali Rwanda, 5 months at United Nations Children’s Fund: (Deadline 12 May 2024)

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Background:

Rwanda is vulnerable to the impacts of natural hazards including drought, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, strong wind, and landslides. These hazards cause physical, socio-economic, and environmental damages and losses. Moreover, over the last decade, the frequency and intensity of natural hazard-induced disasters have significantly increased due to increase in temperature, causing negative impacts on human development, properties, infrastructures, and the environment. According to UNICEF Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI), which provides the first comprehensive view of children’s exposure and vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, Rwanda has a CCRI score of 5.7 out of 10 and ranks 57th out of the 163 CCRI countries and regions, placing children in Rwanda at “High” risk.

The data from the Ministry in Charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA) indicates that the country has experienced 3,309 disasters between 2011 and 2019. Several disasters were also recorded in the first five months of 2020 with huge effects. Cumulatively, these incidents cause not only deaths but also a lot of damage and loss of livelihoods and infrastructure in Rwanda. The most severe of the recent disaster event was the 2-3 May 2023 floods and landslides in the western and northern provinces of Rwanda. The floods and landslides impacted over ten districts and resulted in 135 deaths, 111 injuries, displacement approximately 18,000 people and damage of houses, health facilities, schools, bridges, water supply systems, power plants, road, and telecommunication infrastructure. The cost of disasters is estimated at USD 300 million annually in Rwanda, with potential doubling or tripling in worse years impacted by multiple hazards.

The heightened intensity and variability of extreme weather conditions seen in recent years, and which is predicted to increase— including rainfall, dry spells, and heat waves—contribute to morbidity, mortality, and damage to public health infrastructure, as well as increased infectious disease. Children are disproportionately affected by the consequences of climate change. With rising temperatures, we see extreme weather events, and in turn increased outbreaks of vector-borne diseases that often affect children worst. Regular bouts of diarrhea, as well as increased respiratory infections linked to air pollution take a toll on children’s long-term physical and mental development. Harvests also shrink, leading to food insecurity and higher food prices. Children will suffer the most through associated health problems such as malnutrition, stunted growth, weak immune systems, and long-term developmental problems.

Urgent action is needed to protect at-risk communities and prevent negative health effects, particularly among populations most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and variation on population health. Recognizing this reality, Ministry of Health (MOH), with support from UNICEF, conducted the first-of-its kind climate and health workshop in February 2024. The primary objective of the workshop is to convene all stakeholders involved in the intersection of climate and health in Rwanda—partners and government agencies alike— to chart the existing data sources related to climate in order to determine the priority research questions to address and corresponding policy considerations. The main outcome of this workshop was a comprehensive list of resolutions and actions, one of  which was a health sector climate risk and vulnerability assessment, strategy, and action plan to inform policy, planning and implementation.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The purpose of the consultancy is to support MOH to undertake a climate risk and vulnerability assessment for the health sector to better understand how environmental pollution and climate change are impacting and will impact the health system in Rwanda and identify strategies and actions that can be implemented. The specific objectives of this assignment are to:

1. Assess the existing and expected impacts of climate change on health, disease burden and the health system in Rwanda (including direct, environmental system mediated and socially mediated impact using available data sources.
2. Assess the exposure and vulnerability of health systems and services such as inter-alia, facilities, frontline workers, and vulnerable community segments, including their ability to adapt to the impact of climate change with strong focus on children and guided by a comprehensive gender and equity analysis.
3. Develop a strategy and action plan for climate resilient and green health systems and services informing policy, planning and implementation in Rwanda.

Key Tasks:

The consultant will lead the following tasks, working closely with MOH managers, UNICEF and WHO technical teams.

1. Consultation with key stakeholders, literature review and inception report

• Hold inclusive consultation meetings with key stakeholders and the steering committee for this project to ensure common understanding of climate and health in general and the terms of reference of the assignment. A steering committee will be established by MOH to streamline guidance and advice for this TOR.
• Review relevant secondary data and existing literature to understand the impacts of climate change on the health system in Rwanda. He/she will also review relevant health, environment and climate change policies, strategies, and plans.
• Prepare, submit, and refine an inception report with methodology (including any data collection tools and primary and secondary data analysis plans) and detailed work plan (activities with timelines for deliverable including time for review).
• Prepare and deliver a presentation for the steering committee to validate inception report and accept relevant comments provided.

ii)

1. Field visits and consultations with relevant stakeholders

• Conduct field visits to selected districts to be agreed with MOH to understand the context and assess health infrastructure vulnerability to climate change. The MOH will support identifying health facilities and frontline workers (including community health workers) situated in high-risk zones, including those exposed to floods, and landslides. Direct data collection using an accepted, standardized framework will be used to map and categorize health infrastructure and personnel by level of vulnerability to various natural hazards across Rwanda. Sex-and age-disaggregated data should be collected and analyzed throughout the assessment process using gender-sensitive indicators to investigate disparities in terms of coping mechanisms related to climate change and health outcomes.

• Field visits and consultation should also cover ongoing programmes and educational initiatives in schools and health facilities to identify practices (both harmful practices and opportunities) including medical waste management by health facilities, water management, handling of hazardous materials, and disposal of equipment.
• Lead inclusive multi-sectoral consultation (one-on-one as well as in a workshop) with relevant stakeholders to consolidate findings, agree on impacts of climate change on the health systems and services and propose interventions within health sector to adapt and reduce the negative impacts of climate change and environmental pollution/hazards on health. These interventions may include retrofit interventions, system strengthening interventions and building and infrastructure interventions such as new standards and guidelines. It should also include environment- and resource-saving strategies and approaches that should be institutionalized for accelerating greening of health facilities and the health system.

2. Draft climate risk and vulnerability assessment report and strategy and action plan for a climate resilient and green health system

• Based on review and analysis of existing data, field assessments, stakeholder consultations, and stakeholder workshop, the consultant will draft climate risk and vulnerability report, which will include a child-sensitive and gender-transformative assessment of how the health systems and services in Rwanda (including, inter-alia,  infrastructure, equipment, staff, patients, and vulnerable communities are being impacted (and will be impacted) by climate change and environmental hazards.
• The consultant will also develop the draft strategy and action plan for climate resilient and green health system detailing the strategies and actions required to mitigate the climate change risks on the health sector, especially the most vulnerable facilities, health workers, and communities, explicitly addressing gender inequalities and greening of systems and services. This plan will outline the specific tasks/actions required, the cost for each activity, and the responsible departments, institutions, and partners, including actions which are gender-transformative and that address the risks identified for the most vulnerable populations. There will also be recommendations for how Rwanda can integrate these findings into climate action plans across other specific sectors in addition to health.

3. Present the draft assessment report and the strategy/action plan for a climate resilient and green health sector.

• Prepare a power point presentation to present the draft assessment report and strategy/action plan to the steering committee and revise the documents considering consulted stakeholders’ feedback.
• Integrate feedback from the steering committee and conduct a broader validation workshop.
• Finalize deliverables, submit hard and electronic copies of the final documents in an edited format ready for printing with illustrations, figures, maps, tables, and charts.

Work Assignment Overview

Tasks/Milestone:

• Desk review and consultation with key stakeholders and development of an inception report (i)
• Conduct assessment, including field work/data collection, data analysis, mapping, and consultative workshop (ii)
• Preparation of the draft climate risk and vulnerability assessment report and action plan for climate resilient health system in Rwanda and presentation to steering committee.
• Validation workshop for deliverables and finalization of the draft climate risk and vulnerability assessment report and strategy/action plan for climate resilient and green health systems in Rwanda considering feedback from stakeholders.

Deliverables/Outputs:

Payment 1: 20%

Finalize and submit inception report

Payment 2: 40%

Brief field report

•           Maps-based visualization and categorization of facilities and staff

•           Stakeholder workshop presentation of key findings

•           Interviews and surveys with key stakeholders on field visits

•           Workshop report

Payment 3: 40%

•           Draft risk and vulnerability assessment report

•           Draft risk mitigation strategies and action plan

•           Presentation of the draft analysis and proposed mitigation strategies and actions

•           Final risk and vulnerability assessment report.

•           Validated strategy and action plan

Duration and Duty Location

This consultancy will be completed within 5 months. The consultant will mix working from home and in the office.

Selection Criteria

Applications shall be assessed based on their technical and financial proposals. Maximum scores for technical and financial applications will be 75% and 25%, respectively.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Health and Environment Science, Environmental Management and Natural Resources management, Disaster management, Climate change adaptation and resilience.
• At least eight years’ experience in climate change and health environment sector, especially in similar works.
• To have performed at least three assignments related to climate change and health with proof documents.
• Knowledge of Geo-Spatial Information, Geodatabase Management, Environmental Modelling & Agriculture Remote Sensing, Land Surveying and Geospatial Project Management is desirable.
• Experience in working with health institutions regarding health and climate change adaptations and mitigation is desirable.
• Fluency in English is a must, and knowledge of French and Kinyarwanda an advantage.

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.

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 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: 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. 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.

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.

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