Type: Individual Consultant
Duty Station: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Closing Date: 10 November 2024, midnight Sri Lanka time (GMT +5:30)
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 new strategic plan (2022-2025), focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices.
Sri Lanka has achieved impressive improvements in maternal health, largely attributable to maternal care services. A high level of maternal literacy has also contributed to this achievement. However, only an extremely slow improvement has been seen in the maternal mortality ratio in the recent past, which demands focused attention on improving maternal care services, including empowerment of the clients through behaviour change communication.
A booklet to empower clients by improving their knowledge of maternal health was developed, designed and published in 2006. This booklet was given to pregnant women on a lending basis which helped to enhance their knowledge. However, these booklets are not widely available at present, and the content is also outdated.
As such, the UNFPA is supporting the Family Health Bureau (FHB) to hire a consultant to revise and improve the booklet on maternal health targeting clients under the guidance of a working group to be appointed by the Family Health Bureau.
The consultant is expected to carry out the following activities during the period November 2024 to January 2025.
Tasks:
- Consultations with relevant stakeholders including the Director (MCH) and relevant consultants of the Family Health Bureau on the proposed activity.
- Scrutinize the relevant literature, including national guidelines on maternal health and services.
- Draft an outline of the content of the booklet on maternal health.
- In concurrence with the Family Health Bureau and the working group, modify the draft outline of the booklet on maternal health.
- Based on the comments received regarding the outline of the booklet, develop the booklet on maternal health.
- Prepare a final version of the booklet on maternal health in Sinhala revised according to feedback from the FHB and the working group.
- Coordinate and arrange Tamil translations for the final booklet.
- Submit the final Sinhala and Tamil version of the booklet.
Please refer to the Terms of Reference for further details.