Consultant for Health Manual and IEC materials Preparation

Consultant for Health Manual and IEC materials Preparation

Apeiron has provided shelter services to the survivors of gender based violence (GBV) in Nepal since 2007, assisting up to 1000 survivors each year. Apeiron currently provides shelter services, in Kathmandu (Casa Nepal) and in Sindhuli, with psychosocial counselling, medical services, child support and skill development trainings for the survivors to be independent. 

By working directly with GBV survivors for several years, Apeiron found that there is an extreme and peculiar need for health care for both the mothers and their children, who also suffer the consequences of gender based violence.

The shelter workers are trained on case management, psychosocial counselling, safe home management etc. However, they are not trained to manage the preventable health problems in client centred approaches (that keep in mind the points of view and culture of the person).  The staff take the survivors to the health facilities for health check ups but are not able to identify key symptoms of health problems in the women and their children, before or after health check-ups. 

Since 2018 Apeiron started a collaboration with the Italian NGO “Associazione Giuliano De Marchi per il Nepal (AGDM)” for the construction and management of the kindergarten for the children of the women who take shelter in Casa Nepal. This collaboration has extended to include a project for Promoting Positive Attitudes of GBV survivors on health issues (PPA), aiming to enhance the capacity of shelter operators to deliver quality support regarding maternal and child health care, nutrition and hygiene, and sexual and reproductive health, including the identification of health problems that require a quick referral to health services for immediate attention by health service staff.

To improve the assistance to the GBV survivors regarding the maintenance of the health of women and their children a consultant is required to:

i.   1) identify the common health problems of GBV survivors, women, adolescents and children in the Apeiron shelters, including possible psychological problems – by collaborating on this aspect with the shelter psychologist;

ii.  2) produce a Health Care Manual for the shelter workers to help them in quickly identifying and treating, as well as preventing, the main health problems of the women and their children;

iii. 3) based on the health care manual produce IEC materials to inform the mothers on various important aspects of maternal-infant health, reproductive health, nutrition and food hygiene – using a language that can be easily understood also by mothers with limited or no education; and,

iv.  4) based on the above, conduct a training course for the shelter staff.

This call for a consultant refers to the first three tasks described above. Once these tasks are completed, it will be decided if the same consultant or another person will be more suitable to conduct the training course for the shelter staff.

Operating procedures for the consultant

To undertake these tasks, the consultant will be requested to propose a method and approach to achieve the above, considering the following steps:

• Identify the common health problems of GBV survivors - women, adolescents and children, including by discussing with the shelter operators, to take into account their experience of the problems of the survivors and their children. 
• The consultant should then get in touch with representatives of the Department of Health Services, Family Welfare Division, Nutrition Section of the Ministry of Health (MOH), and with other institutions, such as the Central Department of Public Health of Tribhuvan University (TU) who can provide useful resources for training on maternal and child health, such as the WHO Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) and other related training materials that can be adapted for use in these shelters.
• Based on the above, produce the draft health care manual and discuss and finalize this with the Apeiron operators, sending the final draft for comments to the AGDM members.
• Based on the health care manual for shelter operators produce draft IEC materials for the mothers, to be discussed and completed with the Apeiron operators, sending the final draft for comments to the AGDM members.

Duration of the consultancy: Three months (including feedback collection and finalization)

Education and Experience:

• Master degree in public health
• Sound knowledge in Nepal’s health development planning process and development plans
• Knowledge and experience in women and children’s health manual preparation
• At least 5 years of experience in health sector
• Excellent writing and analytical skills
• Experience working with the development agencies in INGO/NGO system and/or WHO

Interested Nepali applicants with suitable skills are requested to submit proposal through email: apeironrecruitmentwing@gmail.com by 31st March 2021 by 5 pm Nepal time. 

Only shortlisted consultants will be contacted for further process. APEIRON reserves the right to reject any or all applications. Telephonic enquiries will not be entertained.

APEIRON is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from women, people with disabilities and members from disadvantaged /underrepresented ethnic groups. APEIRON believes on knowledge, skill, attitude, aptitude, commitment and dedication, and promotion of diversity within the organization.