National Consultants for Coordination, planning and monitoring of Demand Generation support for RCCE to roll out COVID-19 Vaccine – Tanzania

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For every child, safety

On 31 December 2019, WHO was alerted to a cluster of pneumonia patients in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. One week later, on 7 January 2020, Chinese authorities confirmed that they had identified a novel (new) coronavirus as the cause of the pneumonia. To date the corona virus (COVID-19) has spread to over 150 countries, including over 10 in East and southern Africa. The Communication for Development programme is at the forefront of UNICEF emergency response.

The COVAX Facility, one of three key pillars of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, is a global collaboration co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and to guarantee fair and equitable access globally. With over 300 COVID-19 vaccine candidates being monitored in varying stages of development and 25 vaccines in clinical evaluation, it is possible that a vaccine candidate may achieve emergency use approval in 2020. In preparation for this, effective assessment of communities’ and Health workers’ knowledge, behaviour, attitude and practice for this new vaccine and the development of evidence-based demand generation strategies is capital.

Hence, UNICEF Tanzania Office, is seeking assistance in the form of a consultancy with duration of 8 months (with a possibility of extension, contingent on availability of funds) to support in coordination, planning and monitoring of an evidence-based Demand Generation and Communication Plan. This should include development of tools and materials for resources and interventions mapping and monitoring.

Public understanding of the prioritization of target population, which will initially focus on Front Line Workers before covering at risk population, then general population over time, will be key to ensure overall acceptance and utilization of COVID-19 vaccines and reinforce trust in health and immunization services. This will also support the efforts to counter act the unprecedented abundance of information and misinformation circulating during the pandemic that can also impact the public response.

Strategies, both targeting primary recipients of the Covid-19 vaccine and the general population, will need to be informed by evidence on how Front-Line Workers and general population think and feel towards this vaccine introduction, understand their risk perceptions, decision-making factors and the barriers and drivers influencing demand for an uptake of COVID-19 vaccine. Evidence should also showcase the levels of trust in health authorities, vaccine hesitancy and perceptions of COVID-19 to shape relevant risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategies and plans. The COVID-19 vaccine process will require coordinating communications across national and subnational levels as well as public and private sectors, while engaging relevant stakeholders.

MAIN OBJECTIVES, DELIVERABLES AND TIME FRAME   

Main objectives:
The following are pre-requisites to the development of demand generation and communication strategies:

• Support HPS/HPU and PORALG in coordination, planning and monitoring the overall risk communication and community engagement interventions for vaccine demand promotion
• Support the data collection and analysis efforts (with clear gender, age and locality segregation) to inform any update or revision of the national demand promotion plan.
• Support the rollout, monitoring and review of the national demand promotion plan already developed per MOH and partners.
• Support MOH and PORALG to coordinate the advocacy, communication, social mobilization, and training taskforce to implement the COVID 19 vaccine introduction and rollout in line with existing LGA structures.
• Provide technical assistance to MOH and PORALG and partners on development of evidence-based communication messages and material (digital and non-digital) as guided by global guidelines, community feedback and lessons learned in implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination demand generation plan.
• Provide support for social listening and rumour management through establishment of community feedback mechanisms.
• Support capacity building of health workers, CSOs, frontline workers, social mobilizers on demand generation-linking it with the gains made in RCCE.
• Support Monitoring and documentation of lessons learnt from the whole process.

Currently, no RCCE mechanisms under the Ministry of Health neither UNICEF Tanzania has the in-house capacity to perform the above-mentioned planning and preparatory activities to ensure the successful introduction of COVID-19 vaccine in Tanzania hence the requirement to engage a short-term technical consultant.

How can you make a difference?

The overall objective of this consultancy is to ensure that public acceptance and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in the country is adequate.

Under the general guidance of the C4D Manager, the two consultants are responsible for the coordination of communication technical working groups to accelerate demand generation approaches and strategies at the RCCE subcommittee under the Ministry of Health to promote evidence-based Social and Behaviour Change interventions including social mobilization, advocacy, community engagement, community empowerment and monitoring and evaluation as key components of the country programmes in Tanzania in line with the work plan for COVID-19 Vaccine introduction.

The consultants are expected to provide technical support to following activities:

Strategic Direction and Coordination:

• Support RCCE to determine strategic directions for Communication for Development (advocacy, social mobilization, communication, community engagement and behaviour change) Technical Working Groups and ensure the strategies are in line with UNICEF Country Office plans to achieve COVID-19 vaccine coverage targets.

• Make viable recommendations and decisions on appropriate Communication for Development strategies to achieve the RCCE’s goals and objectives, and to support UNICEF’s mission in the country.

• Coordinate different fora mainly GAVI subgroups for demand generation, and country’s community engagement working groups under RCCE mechanisms

To provide expert advice and assistance to the RCCE teams by attending task teams including RCCE core groups – Health Promotion Technical Working (MoH), Immunisation and Vaccine Pillar and Public Communication Cluster (MoH) which promote culturally sensitive and tailored Social and Behaviour Change interventions contributing to ensuring sustainable demand and uptake of immunization services.

Demand Generation

• Ensure that RCCE groups are supported to develop plans and activities to promote acceptance among the general population of the initial ACT/COVAX prioritization guidance, increase trust in health and immunization services, and generate demand and uptake for COVID-19 vaccine among target population (Front-Line workers in a first phase, then at risk population, and finally general population over time)

• Develop, maintain, and update the RCCE strategy with approaches, plans and activities geared towards generating demand for COVID-19 vaccine and other primary health care (PHC) services, as needed. The strategy should be founded on sound evidence based on studies with clear objectives, approaches, plans, activities, as well as monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.

• Provide support for social listening and rumour management through establishment of crisis communication

• Provide support for capacity building of Health Workers, CSOs, Front-Line workers on demand generation-linking it with the gains made in RCCE

• Ensure approaches used are inclusive, consultative, and participatory to carry along all stakeholders.

Promotion of C4D/SBCC/RCCE principles

• Provide advice on appropriate use of Social and Behavioural Change interventions

• Provide expert advice, coordination and technical support to government counterparts and other partners in the development and strategic use of Communication for Development to ensure optimum leverage and impact of communication activities on programme, policy and advocacy activities.

• Collaborate with the national and subnational Government officials, community/traditional leaders, other UN bodies, and bilateral agencies and NGOs in the organization of activities, operational research, advocacy and exchange of information and ideas supportive of RCCE’s goals and strategies.

• Monitor and evaluate activities based on applied targeted communication research and visits to field/project sites, when needed.

Disseminate communication research findings, ensuring exchanges of experience and new methods to government officials, programme staff, and other UNICEF partners.

Capacity Building for Sustainability

Oversee and advise on the development of goals, strategy, approaches, plans as well as training materials and activities to build up capacity in participatory and behaviour change communication for personnel involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of Communication for Development intervention within RCCE strategies for generating demand for COVID-19 vaccine uptake by communities.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The consultant will report to the C4D Manager and work closely with the Director of Health Promotion Service/Unit in the Ministry of Health, and Health Specialist in Health Section, UNICEF Tanzania will support with providing guidance for this assignment.

It is expected that the consultant prepares an implementation plan with timelines for the assignment, outlining planned tasks and concrete steps to be undertaken to accomplish the planned tasks within the scheduled time.

Regular discussions will be held face-to-face, virtually, the consultant is expected to stay in touch via telephone, e-mails, and other means such as Zoom or Skype.

• The 1st consultant will be based at Dar es Salaam or Dodoma with regular field visits.
• The 2nd one in Zanzibar with regular field visits within Unguja and Pemba.

The consultants will need to present the draft documents as well as the final report to UNICEF, MOH. At the beginning of the assignment, the consultants are expected to produce and agree with UNICEF and HPS Unit, Immunization Unit and PORALG of MOH on work plan schedules for the assignment period.